Perpetual Destiny
by SK Dark Dragon
Summary: -Completed!- It is said that destiny will repeat itself, so what will happen when the events of the past begin to occur again in the present times? Can Yugi and his friends prevail? -Read and Review-
1. Chapter 1: Schemes and Dreams

Perpetual Destiny  
  
Notes: ^_^ Hello again everyone! Here's our brand new story.  
  
"Yep, yep! Oh, and yeah, we don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any manga or anime characters. We do own Amber, Taerro, Yami Taerro, and our other made up characters if I forgot any."  
  
And minor notes from my last story, yes, Seto will have a big part in this story, and Mokuba will be in it more, I hope. ^_^ Enjoy the story and don't forget to review when you're finished. ^_~ Here's Chapter 1.  
  
***********  
  
Chapter One: Dreams and Schemes  
  
It was a cold and wet evening in Domino City, the cars on the streets sloshing water up on the sidewalks as they rushed by, probably toward home, judging by the late hour.  
  
The streetlights illuminated the black asphalt and the puddles of rainwater reflected the light, moving and rippling out again and again. Inside a cheery house, in the back room sat a boy, sitting in his room all alone, the lights turned off, leaving it quite impossible to see in the room.  
  
Or at least, it would have been impossible to see in the room, but a strange yellow glow was coming from a circular pendant with five dangling points and a pyramid in the center hanging around the boy's neck.  
  
The boy closed his large brown eyes for a moment, and opened them again to reveal quite different and more narrow eyes.  
  
"It has been two weeks since I've felt it..." he murmured, his voice low and evil-sounding. "Since I sensed the reawakening of the ancient evil force that threatened Egypt before I."  
  
The possessed boy's eyes narrowed as he reminisced how he'd sensed the presence of a new evil force...one even stronger than himself.  
  
"Nearly 3000 years ago, a man known as the Vampire Lord, a human magician who had fused his very soul with that of a monster threatened Egypt with a powerful force of magic," The boy muttered to himself. "The force, however, was stopped by the priests and the Pharaoh."  
  
"A few months ago, I reawakened that spirit to aid me, and that was my greatest mistake as now, two weeks ago, that spirit was able to separate from its host and become what it once was; a threat to all of Egypt, as well as a great enemy of mine."  
  
Yami Bakura gritted his teeth as he spoke.  
  
"My plans to obtain the Millennium Items, therefore, must be put into act immediately, before this Vampire Lord can obtain enough power to conquer all of Egypt..."  
  
Yami Bakura grinned evilly, the light from the Millennium Ring reflecting off his eyes.  
  
"It is said destiny shall repeat itself," he murmured quietly. "And that it shall. Only this time, I will prevail..."  
  
**********  
  
It was a chilly day in November as Yugi Motou sat in his warm kitchen, drinking tea and reading the morning paper before school. It had been nearly two weeks since he and his friends had finished off a pesky enemy for good, and life had returned to normal around Domino City.  
  
Well, almost normal, Yugi thought to himself with a smile as he winked at Yami, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, who was sitting in a chair next to him in spiritual form, unseen by everyone else except Yugi.  
  
"You seem happy this morning, Yugi," Yami commented, raising an eyebrow as he smiled as his friend. "Tell me, is something good happening today?"  
  
Yugi shook his head, grinning as he drained the last bit of tea from his cup and put it in the sink.  
  
"Not necessarily today, but this week we're having a festival at our school, and there are going to be guests from all around the world there, performing different acts and telling us a bit about themselves," he informed his spiritual friend, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.  
  
Yami raised an eyebrow as he followed Yugi to the door.  
  
"Ah...I see," he replied.  
  
Yugi grinned as he waved to his Grandfather, who was setting off to open the Game Shop, and opened the front door, shivering in the cold November weather.  
  
"Not only that, but Tea's going to do a dance act in the festival too," he added, hoping Yami wouldn't start to tease him again.  
  
Yami grinned as Yugi set off down the street for school.  
  
"Ah...now I see why you're so excited about this festival..." he replied tauntingly. "Tea is going to be in it."  
  
  
  
Yugi bit his lip and felt his cheeks turn red, wishing he hadn't mentioned anything about Tea.  
  
"That's not why I'm excited, Yami!" he yelled, forgetting he was in public.  
  
A pale young girl with white, straw-like hair turned around and stared at him, blinking her pale blue eyes.  
  
"Are you all right, boy?" she asked in slow and clear Japanese, tilting her head slightly.  
  
Yugi blushed, embarrassed.  
  
"I'm...I'm fine," he replied, mentally scowling at Yami. "I was just...thinking about what I was going to say to a friend later."  
  
  
  
The girl shrugged, turning back to a group of girls she had been talking to and rejoining the conversation, Yugi walking quickly by, humiliated.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Yami..." he muttered, his good mood slightly deflated.  
  
Yami smiled.  
  
"It is why you're excited, though," he couldn't resist putting in.  
  
***********  
  
Seto Kaiba sighed as he sent off an e-mail to one of his customers and shut down his lap top computer.  
  
"Off to school then, I guess," he murmured, picking up his metal briefcase, which he never left behind, and walking towards his door.  
  
Mokuba had already taken the bus earlier that morning, but being late for school was something that never bothered the CEO of Kaiba Corporation. He frankly didn't see the point in going at all, but found himself at school each day despite himself.  
  
Walking down the staircase, he noticed a small letter on the doormat, as if someone had just slipped it under the door rather than having paid for postage and having it sent the proper way.  
  
"What's this?" he murmured, picking up the blank envelope and opening the flap to reveal a sheet of notebook paper and a message written in pencil.  
  
"Destiny will repeat itself."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, puzzle by the letter. It sounded like something Ishizu Ishtar would tell him, he thought to himself in irritation, crumpling up the message and putting it in his pocket as he walked out the door.  
  
But who in the world would leave him a message like that under his door, and how did they get past the security and up to the door to put it there anyway? What did it mean?  
  
Puzzle, Seto walked off toward school.  
  
***********  
  
In the school auditorium, Joey Wheeler browsed through a large stack of papers listing things that needed to be done before the festival. Seeing as how the entire city of Domino was invited, the school board naturally wanted everything in perfect shape and all props, booths, and other things neatly set up in time for the festival.  
  
"Scrub the messages off the bathroom doors?" Joey read off the sheet, wrinkling his nose. "Sheesh, that's ridiculous. What's a bathroom door with no messages?"  
  
Tristan Taylor sighed, taking a break from sweeping under the seats in the auditorium in the front row and looking up at his blonde-haired friend.  
  
"Listen Joey, we're getting out of class to do these jobs, so let's at least do them right," he muttered wisely.  
  
Taerro nodded from where he was attempting to move a piece of a set from one side of the stage to the next, which he was finding rather difficult by himself.  
  
"True," he remarked with a pant, pausing to catch his breath. "Although Mr. Zaliki's Science lecture looked like it was going to be interesting today. I was kind of sad to miss it."  
  
Before Joey could reply to this, Duke Devlin and Amber Johnson, an exchange student from America, walked into the auditorium together, grinning and waving up at the three.  
  
"Hey guys!" Duke called, hopping up on stage. "What have you guys done so far?"  
  
Joey scratched his head.  
  
"Uh..." he muttered, looking to Tristan and Taerro for answers.  
  
Tristan narrowed his eyes in frustration.  
  
"I've swept most of the auditorium," he replied. "And Taerro's getting all the set pieces sorted out for the different performances and stuff. And Joey's been a big pain."  
  
Joey growled, throwing down the clipboard and all the lists.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?! I've been trying to find a job that suits me!" he retorted angrily.  
  
Amber rolled her eyes, snatching up the list and glancing down at it.  
  
"How about this one, "Scrub off the messages on the bathroom doors?" she asked, looking up at him.  
  
Joey scowled as Tristan and Taerro burst out laughing, Amber and Duke looking confused.  
  
"What's so funny?" Duke asked, but was cut off as Yugi ran up to them, panting.  
  
"Sorry I'm late," he panted, looking up at them. "What've I missed?"  
  
Tristan was about to reply, but Joey cut him off.  
  
"Absolutely nothing," he replied quickly, looking very annoyed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some messages to erase..."  
  
Joey stomped off, Tristan grinning.  
  
"Well, at least we go Mr. Lazy to do something," he sighed, turning to Yugi. "Anyway, why don't you see if you can find Tea? She's supposed to be practicing her act in her with the rest of her dance class in ten minutes."  
  
  
  
Yugi nodded happily.  
  
"Sure thing," he replied, starting for the auditorium doors. "She should be in science lab..."  
  
Taerro perked up at the word science.  
  
"Oh! And see if you can't catch part of Mr. Zaliki's lecture!" he called after Yugi, pushing his gold-rimmed glasses back.  
  
Yugi sweat-dropped, putting on a fake smile.  
  
"Uh...sure!" he called back. "I'll try!"  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Priest Seto, well, at least his spirit, was floating through the Egyptian wing of Domino Museum. He had been called back by Bastet, the cat goddess of Egypt, a few months ago to keep an eye on Domino City and the Millennium Item owners for her.  
  
Also he'd given himself the duty to protect his reincarnate, Seto Kaiba, and his younger brother, Mokuba. Today, however, he was examining the old artifacts of the past that were being displayed in the museum.  
  
"I think I remember the craftsman who made that necklace..." he murmured to himself, remembering a day from the past, long ago. "Of course, I was in such a rush that day, it could be some other necklace...I really couldn't have taken more than a glance at what he had been selling..."  
  
The nice thing about being a spirit was that no matter where or when he was somewhere, it didn't bother anyone else because no one could see him. No one, that was, except people related to the ancient magic of the past, like Yugi Motou and his reincarnate.  
  
There was a click clack from the hallways as the priest continued to examine the golden items in the glass cases. He was quite startled when a soft voice addressed him from the other side of the room.  
  
"You are the high priest," Ishizu Ishtar commented, blinking in surprise as Priest Seto whirled around, his eyes wide.  
  
He nodded slowly.  
  
"Yes," he replied.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Ishizu asked, curiously.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"Just looking at the items on display, but if I'm causing some sort of disturbance, I'll leave," he replied, moving away from the display case.  
  
Ishizu shook her head quickly.  
  
"Oh no," she replied. "Of course not. I was merely interested in what had drawn you here. In fact," she added, turning around. "It must be fate, as I have some words of advice for you."  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow in suspicion.  
  
"Words of advice?" he repeated, curiously.  
  
Ishizu nodded, her back to the spirit and her eyes closed.  
  
"You are aware that destiny repeats itself, correct?" she asked, reminding Priest Seto distinctly of Ishizu's ancient self that he had known.  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Repeats? In what way? I've seen that people are reincarnated again in the future, but as in events reoccurring?" he asked the woman.  
  
Ishizu nodded.  
  
"That is somewhat what I mean," she replied. "I sense danger and an overwhelming force of fate looming over the events to occur in the near future. I wish to warn you to be on your guard. For everyone to be on their guard for dark times are at hand."  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow as Ishizu started to walk away.  
  
"Enjoy the exhibit," she called back before disappearing into the shadows of the corridor, leaving Priest Seto to ponder on her words.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter One  
  
PLEASE leave a review and let us know what you think.  
  
"And come back tomorrow for the next chapter, okay? ^_^" 


	2. Chapter 2: Preparations

Chapter Two: Preparations  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing everyone!  
  
"Yep! And here's Chapter 2!"  
  
Oh, and one more note that might not affect this chapter, but there's a new character I'm going to introduce, but I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about her. I don't write a lot of romance anyway, but just in case I think I ought to let you know that I DON'T write Seto romances with anyone, okay? ^_~ So don't worry.   
  
***********  
  
Chapter Two: Preparations  
  
Yugi walked down the almost silent hallway, voices from various classes that were going on trailing into the corridor. Yugi passed his math classroom, and approached the science lab, which was also his homeroom.  
  
"Well, let's hope Mr. Zaliki doesn't oppose to letting Tea go practice," he muttered to Yami, who nodded silently in agreement.  
  
Yugi turned the handle and walked into the room, grinning rather embarrassedly as the entire class turned to look at him. Mr. Zaliki narrowed his eyes as he spotted the distraction which was keeping his class from listening to his lecture.  
  
"What is it, Motou?" he sighed, smoothing out the papers on his desk that had notes to the lesson on them.  
  
Yugi scratched his cheek with a small grin.  
  
"Um...Tea's supposed to go down to the auditorium to practice for the festival," he said in a meek voice.  
  
Mr. Zaliki's mouth thinned.  
  
"All right then, Miss Gardner, go and practice," he muttered, turning back to the rest of the class as Tea hurried over to Yugi, who walked outside the classroom and shut the door with a small snap.  
  
"Whew, I'm glad he didn't make you stay for the rest of the class or anything," Yugi commented with a smile as the two headed back toward the auditorium.  
  
Tea nodded.  
  
"That lecture was so boring," she whispered, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. "Either chemistry is ALWAYS that boring, or Mr. Zaliki has the magical ability to turn anything into a boring soliloquy."  
  
Yugi chuckled, glancing back at the classrooms.  
  
"You think we ought to tell the rest of the group that practice is going to start in a bit?" he asked, looking up at Tea, who shrugged.  
  
"I already told them that practice was going to be at 9:10, so they should show up," she replied.  
  
Yugi grinned.  
  
"Okay," he replied.  
  
*************  
  
Seto walked up the stairs of the school and into the building, clutching his metal briefcase. As he walked down the hallway, he was suddenly stopped as someone called out his name.  
  
"Mr. Kaiba! There you are!"  
  
Seto turned around to see the assistant principal of the school standing behind him, holding up several stacks of papers, looking quite relieved to see him.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd show up!" she continued cheerfully, walking over to him as he stared as her, stony-faced. "As you know, the school festival is this week and we need to prepare, so in exchange for getting out of class, you've been chosen to help out in the preparations this week."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Preparations?" he repeated.  
  
The woman nodded, holding out a hot pink sheet of paper with a printed list on it.  
  
"That's a list of all the things you need to accomplish by tomorrow afternoon," she informed him as he scanned the list with displeasure. "I'm sure you won't mind, as the duties aren't that difficult. Most of them are outside-jobs anyway."  
  
With a cheerful smile, she walked past him and down the hallway, leaving him alone with the list of chores. Sighing, he tucked the list away in his coat pocket and walked back outside once more.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, back in the auditorium, Duke and Tristan were assisting Taerro in moving the props across the stage while Amber was attempting to fix a chair in the audience that had broken.  
  
"Ow!" she grumbled, as a sharp part of the wire scratched her arm. "This is dangerous work..."  
  
"Steady...steady..." Tristan instructed, sweating at the three lifted a rather large and heavy wooden background scene and began walking across the stage with it.  
  
"Careful..." Taerro added, biting his lip as the scene teetered a little, threatening to fall over and crush Tristan and Duke.  
  
Fortunately, however, they managed to get it to the other side before that happened, just as Tea and Yugi walked in, the rest of Tea's dance class following her.  
  
"Hey guys!" Yugi called as Duke wiped his forehead. "Can Tea and her class use the stage for practicing now?"  
  
Joey sloshed into the room, the bottoms of pants drenched in water and his shoes making squeaking noises as he walked across the quiet auditorium.  
  
"Sheesh, someone should notify the principal about that broken faucet," he grumbled under his breath as Tea and the other four girls in her class got up on the stage, Duke, Tristan, and Taerro moving aside.  
  
"Okay, so you got rid of the messages in the boy's rooms?" Tristan asked, picking up the list and checking off "Move Set Props" and "Scrub off Messages on Bathroom Doors."  
  
Joey nodded grimly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I got rid of all the messages," he muttered, crossing his arms. "I don't know whether or not I prefer this to school though."  
  
Amber sighed, dusting off her hands as she stood up.  
  
"I THINK that ought to hold..." she said, looking back at the "fixed" chair from an angle. "I'm not sure though..."  
  
Joey sighed, walking over and flopping down in the chair, only for the seat to break off again and he to come crashing down to the floor. Amber winced as he coughed on the dust that was rising from the chair.  
  
"Or maybe not..." she corrected herself, grinning rather embarrassedly.  
  
Duke chuckled.  
  
"Oh well, just put some caution tape over it or something," he suggested, looking around the room as if he'd seen some of the yellow tape around. "I think we might have some."  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
"I don't think we really have to do anything to it," Taerro commented as Tristan helped Joey to his feet. "No one's going to be stupid enough to sit in that thing."  
  
Yugi giggled.  
  
"I guess you're right," he replied, looking up at Tristan. "But anyway, what're we supposed to do next?" he asked, as Tea began calling out dance moves.  
  
"Well..." Tristan muttered, browsing the lists and schedules. "There's still the rest of the stage to be swept, but we can't do that for a few hours, cause after Tea's group finishes practicing, it looks like a group of Irish dancers are going to be practicing."  
  
Joey grumbled under his breath as he beat the dust off of his blue uniform pants.  
  
"All right then, what do we do in the meantime, Mr. Lists?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at Tristan.  
  
Tristan glanced down at the next item on the list.  
  
"Sweep the hallways...?" he murmured, his shoulders sagging. "Sheesh, don't we have a janitor around here?"  
  
Yugi chuckled and shrugged.  
  
"Oh well, but we'd better do it anyway," he suggested wisely. "We don't want to get in trouble."  
  
Joey scowled and crossed his arms, watching Tea spin on stage.  
  
"Yeah, we sure don't want to get in trouble," he muttered in reply.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile outside, Seto, bored, was sweeping chalk off the sidewalks where several older kids were setting up booths for different festival stands. A trio of trumpet players were practicing on the lawn a few meters away, and a girl with white, straw-like hair and blue eyes was walking by, toward the building. She was wearing a long, green skirt, a white shirt, and a black choker around her neck with a white dragon-like object in the center.  
  
Seto sighed, trying to sweep away a picture of an oak tree.  
  
"I'd rather be inside the building doing school work than out here doing someone else's chores," he muttered to himself.  
  
"I'm getting bored out here..." One of the older boys muttered, kicking at a loose pole in the tent he was setting up, a few feet away from Seto.  
  
"Oh!"  
  
Seto looked up as the pale girl that had been walking by tripped over a pole sticking out of the tent, causing her to fall over and the tent to collapse on one of the boys.  
  
"Hey!" The boy under the tent grunted, ripping the top off as the girl pushed herself up, brushing bits of gravel off of her long, green, skirt.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir, but you really should keep that pole out of the walkway," The girl replied politely, with a strange accent Seto couldn't place.  
  
The boy growled and jumped forward, grabbing her arm.  
  
"You saying that was my fault, punk?" he thundered, the girl frowning and twisting her arm frantically.  
  
  
  
"Yes, I am, now let GO of me!" she demanded forcefully.  
  
A boy beside her snickered.  
  
"No way, put the tent back together again or else you can't leave this area, girly," he taunted, prodding her shoulder.  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow at the scene. It wasn't any of his business...but it was quite distracting.  
  
"I don't know HOW to put a tent together, idiot!" The girl hollered back at the boy, moving her arm away. "Now I demand you RELEASE me so I can attend my rehearsal."  
  
The troupe of boys snickered.  
  
"She needs to attend her rehearsal, guys," One joked, his voice high and squeaky, mimicking the girl's accent.  
  
"Little miss White-top's gonna miss her show!" Another taunted, the girl still squirming to get free.  
  
"Unhand me!"  
  
Seto sighed.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked coldly, walking toward the boys.  
  
One boy raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, if it isn't Seto Kaiba," The one who had joked about the girl's voice remarked, rolling his eyes. "How threatening."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, not amused.  
  
"Let the girl go, she's done nothing to you, and all this noise is quite annoying," he continued.  
  
The girl turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised in surprise.  
  
"Heh. We're not letting her off the hook until she puts this tent that she broke back together again," Another responded, clutching the girl's arm tighter.  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow and smirked.  
  
"Are you implying you're so weak you have to rely on a girl to do your job for you?" he asked smugly.  
  
The boy frowned in anger.  
  
"No!" he shot back. "And this isn't any of your business anyway. Beat it, techno-freak."  
  
Seto chuckled, turning away.  
  
"Well then, I suppose I was right about you after all," he remarked, starting to walk away, knowing that they'd never make the girl put the tent together now.  
  
The boy holding onto the girl's arm loosened his grip, allowing her to wrench her arm free and back away, nearly tripping over her shoes as she did so.  
  
"Think what you want!" He yelled out at Seto, who was already out of ear-shot, off the storage shed to get the water-containers out, which was the next chore on his list.  
  
The pale girl blinked, looking out at Seto, who was rounding a corner. Narrowing her eyes, she hurried down the walkway in the same direction, the boys from before grumbling as they attempted to reset up the tent.  
  
***********  
  
Yami Bakura walked down the street, wearing his, or rather, Bakura's striped shirt and gray coat rather than the school uniform, as he was skipping school that day, and didn't wish to look suspicious.  
  
"My first target, Seto Kaiba and his Millennium Rod, and the spirit of the ancient past, and his White Dragon Ka..."  
  
He narrowed his eyes as he turned a corner.  
  
"By using an ancient method, I can transfer the power of the White Dragon Ka to myself, enabling ME to become more powerful and deadly," he thought to himself. "But there are several conditions to fulfill this task..."  
  
Thinking to himself, Yami Bakura continued walking.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Duke and Tristan ran down the hallway, each with a broom in hand, grinning as they sped past the art classroom, dust and bits of pine needles from the floor flying up as they went by.  
  
"I'm winning, Duke!" Tristan called, laughing as he rounded the corner a second before Duke did.  
  
Duke smirked and narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Not for long!" he yelled, speeding up and passing Tristan.  
  
The two were "having a little fun with their work," as they entitled it, and making sweeping the hallway a sort of race. Yugi, however, hadn't thought the race idea was a very bright one.  
  
"Guys!" Yugi yelled, running after the two with his broom, gulping as he heard a few desk squeaks from inside classrooms.  
  
Someone, he thought, is going to get into big trouble.  
  
"Yami...what should I do?" he thought frantically to himself, slipping on the floor and crashing into the wall.  
  
Yami blinked as Yugi winced in pain, rubbing his head as he stood up again.  
  
"Oww..." he moaned, one eye closed as he got back on his feet.  
  
"Well, not slip and fall in the hallway, for one," Yami said in a surprised tone. "And also, I think you ought to just let Duke and Tristan do what they want to."  
  
Yugi sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I guess, but they're gonna get in trouble," he replied, turning around and coming face to face with an angry-looking teacher.  
  
"Um..." he gulped, his face turning pink.  
  
"Mr. Motou, might I ask WHY you're running through the hallways and disturbing our classes when you're SUPPOSED to be cleaning?" The woman snapped, her mouth thin and her eyebrows turned down in anger.  
  
"But...but I was trying to catch up with..." he muttered, looking down the hallway for Duke and Tristan, but they were already out of sight.  
  
The teacher pursed her lips and took Yugi's hand firmly and began to walk down the hallway toward the front of the building as the students from her classroom all poked their heads out the door, snickering, as Yugi was dragged, speechless, away.  
  
"I think YOU need to pay a visit to the principal's office, Mr. Motou," she continued, Yugi swallowing hard.  
  
Someone did get in trouble, he thought to himself. Me!  
  
************  
  
  
  
End of Chapter 2  
  
PLEASE review!  
  
"Yes, please do!"  
  
And do remember, I said NO ROMANCE WITH SETO! ^_~ Just want to make it clear. Come back tomorrow for the next chapter! 


	3. Chapter 3: Fate or Fluke?

Chapter Three: Fate or Fluke?  
  
Notes: ^_^ Back for Chapter 3. Thanks for your reviews! They're very much appreciated.  
  
"And...drumroll please...here's chapter 3!!!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Three: Fate or Fluke?  
  
Seto walked over to the dusty old door to the storage shed that was located out near the soccer field of the school. After pulling on the handle several times, the door finally gave way and opened up, revealing a tangled mess of sports equipment, spider webs, and uniforms.  
  
Seto sighed as he scanned the jumbled heap for any sign of the water-containers. Upon not finding any on the first glance, he wearily began to dig through the mess.  
  
There was a click clack on the pavement behind him and suddenly, a voice spoke out, startling him.  
  
"Excuse me, sir."  
  
Seto turned around quickly, to find the pale girl from before standing behind him, looking rather shy. He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What is it now?" he asked, rather impatiently.   
  
The girl looked at the ground with her blue eyes.  
  
"I only wanted to thank you for assisting me a few minutes ago with those ruffians," she said slowly and meekly. "I appreciate it."  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"It doesn't matter," he replied, starting to turn around again. "I have little tolerance for people like that."  
  
There was a moment's pause before Seto spoke again.  
  
"Don't you have some rehearsal to be getting to?" he asked, rather icily.  
  
The girl nodded.  
  
"Yes, but I just wanted to thank you again, Mr...."  
  
She trailed off, looking up at Seto expectantly with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Kaiba," he replied, his eyes still narrowed, a spider crawling out of the shed behind him.  
  
"Kaiba," The girl repeated. "And I am Kiki."  
  
Seto nodded in very mild interest, then turned around as Kiki backed away.  
  
"Good bye!" she called cheerily, as she hurried away, most likely, Seto thought, to her dance lesson.  
  
Sighing, he located the large, orange water container and lugged it out of the shed, dropping it to the ground outside, letting dust from the plastic covering sprinkle off.  
  
Narrowing his eyes, he checked the list.  
  
"Two down...only fifteen to go..." he sighed, looking out at the field.  
  
************  
  
Yugi bit his lip nervously as the teacher ripped open the door to the principal's office and walked over to the front desk.  
  
"Sit down," she snapped at Yugi, who shakily walked over to an empty seat beside a girl with long, black braids, who looked just as nervous as he did.  
  
"May I help you?" The secretary sitting at the front desk asked, peering skeptically over the brim of her oval glasses as the enraged teacher and Yugi, who was, running his fingers nervously over the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
The woman nodded, irritably.  
  
"That young man was SUPPOSED to be cleaning up the halls in exchange for skipping class today, however, he was running around and PLAYING causing a great deal of noise and distraction for my class," she said seriously, jabbing a finger at Yugi.  
  
The secretary sighed, taking off her glasses and folding them.  
  
"Miss Lilia, the principal has MUCH more important issues to deal with than misbehaving students, what with the festival tomorrow and all," she said with an exasperated tone, looking up at Miss Lilia. "Let's just give him a warning and have him go back to work."  
  
Yugi nodded hopefully.  
  
Miss Lilia sighed heavily.  
  
"Oh fine," she huffed, turning back to Yugi. "You! Get back to work and if I hear another SOUND, it's detention for you!"  
  
Yugi nodded nervously.  
  
"Yes!" he replied in a soldierly-manner.  
  
************  
  
Duke sighed happily, gasping for breath as he and Tristan finally came a stop at the end of the third corridor near the eleventh grade rooms.  
  
"I won," he panted with a grin, making a thumbs-up sign.  
  
Tristan sighed.  
  
"Yeah...okay..." he muttered, sweeping the dust into a corner. "It also means we can cross off sweep the hallways from the list."  
  
Duke nodded, looking around.  
  
"Hey, where're Yugi and Joey?" he asked, glancing down the hallway, confused. "I thought they were right behind us."  
  
Tristan shrugged.  
  
"Maybe they took the senior corridor," he suggested, tucking away the list. "Anyway, we've got posters to hang up now. Let's get Yugi and Joey and get started on that."  
  
Duke sighed, looking at his watch.  
  
"Thank goodness it's almost lunchtime," he murmured, propping the broom up against the wall. "I'm starved."  
  
************  
  
The rest of the day passed rather slowly for everyone at Domino High. Duke and Tristan hung up the posters around the school while Joey and Yugi washed the windows and Amber and Taerro sorted costumes and then helped out in the kitchens baking cookies with Tea, who arrived after her dance class.  
  
Seto spent the day outside, to his displeasure, working on things like setting up booths and hanging up cardboard signs and such. The last chore he managed to do before the bell rang was monitor the Moon-Jump as it was being blown up and then tying it down with stakes, so it didn't end up in the middle of the road the next morning.  
  
Finally, to everyone's relief, the bell rang and they were allowed to go home.  
  
"Boy am I beat," Tristan sighed as he, Yugi, and the others walked slowly down the sidewalks toward the Game Shop.  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"I hate chores," she commented, brushing a bit of flour off of her shirt.  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"The feeling is mutual," he agreed.  
  
Beside Yugi, Yami was floating around in a spirit form, gazing up at the blue, cloudless sky. Yugi noticed his partner was being awful quiet, and he tilted his head, looking over at him.  
  
"Is something wrong, Yami?" he asked mentally, causing Yami to look down at his friend.  
  
Yami smiled and shook his head.  
  
  
  
"No, no, not really," he replied. "I'm just thinking..."  
  
Yugi narrowed his eyebrows in concern.  
  
"About what?"  
  
Yami sighed.  
  
"About many things, Yugi," he replied seriously. "About the Vampire Lord, about the Millennium Items, and about Bakura."  
  
Yugi's eyebrows shot up.  
  
"Oh yeah! Bakura wasn't at school today!" he cried aloud.  
  
Tea looked over at him.  
  
"Yeah...now that you mention it, he wasn't," she agreed, closing one eye. "Do you think he's sick?"  
  
Taerro shrugged.  
  
"He could be. I can call him tonight and see what's up," he suggested.  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"Good idea," he agreed, looking right at the other side of the street. "Well, the Black Crown's only a few blocks from here, so we'll be seeing you guys."  
  
Yugi nodded with a smile.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed, waving as Amber and Duke turned right, toward Duke's game shop. "See you at the festival tomorrow!"  
  
Joey's eyes lit up at these words.  
  
"Yeah...festival! That means no school again!" he burst out, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Tea sighed, her shoulders slumping.  
  
"Joey..." she muttered in irritation, narrowing her eyes. "Is that all you ever think about?"  
  
Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"No," he replied. "It's just it's a good thing not to have school two days in a row."  
  
Yugi chuckled as the gang walked across the street together.  
  
"But there's going to be so many interesting people to see tomorrow," Tea sighed happily. "And so many dances to see!"  
  
Tristan grinned and gently prodded Tea's shoulder.  
  
"And is that all YOU ever think about?" he kidded, causing Tea to clench her fists.  
  
"TRISTAN!" she hollered, Tristan and Joey running ahead, Tea on the heels, yelling.  
  
Taerro sighed.  
  
"Wait for me!" he called, running after them, although he was already a block behind.  
  
Yugi smiled, looking back over at Yami, who was already lost in thought again.  
  
"Yami..." Yugi thought to himself, concerned for his other self.  
  
************  
  
Seto sighed as he closed the door to the Kaiba Manor and walked into the dining room, where Mokuba had spread out his math homework on the shiny table and was attempting to work out the problems. His dull mood brightened, however, upon seeing his older brother.  
  
"Niisama!" he cried happily, his eyes lighting up. "How was your day?"  
  
Seto smiled back, looking down at the mail piled on the table.  
  
"It was alright," he replied. "Yours?"  
  
Mokuba sighed, looking down at his math homework with dread.  
  
"It was okay...but they assigned us TONS of math homework, even though we're not having classes tomorrow anyway cause of the festival," Mokuba replied. "It's gonna be fun though, don't you think?"  
  
Seto nodded, looking back over at his brother.  
  
"Probably a lot more fun than it was to set up for," he replied with a half smile.  
  
Mokuba raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Someone obviously "volunteered" me to help set up for the festival, which, as you can guess, wasn't that enjoyable," Seto explained, sitting down in an empty chair.  
  
Mokuba grinned.  
  
"Well, at least you got out of class," he pointed out, trying to look on the bright side.  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"I guess," he replied with a smile.  
  
************  
  
Priest Seto floated through Seto's neighborhood, heading back toward the Kaiba Manor. Ishizu's words from before still puzzled him, and they kept echoing over and over again in his mind.  
  
~You are aware that destiny repeats itself, correct?~  
  
Destiny? Was she implying that the events of the past were going to reoccur?  
  
"If that's the case...then that would mean Bakura would have something to do with all this..." he murmured to himself as a stray dog trotted down the sidewalk, taking no notice of the priest, obviously.  
  
"Perhaps I ought to find out what he is up to..." Priest Seto added to himself.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, at the museum, Ishizu sat down in her office, her eyes closed mystically, lost in thought.  
  
"A great evil from the past reawakened, and now another is about to strike," she murmured to herself. "The past will come into play in the present times."  
  
Opening her eyes, she looked out the small window at the guests roaming around the museum.  
  
"Pharaoh...there is much that you still must know in order to prevail," Ishizu added worriedly. "But is there time to discover it all?"  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter Three  
  
REVIEW!!!  
  
^_^  
  
"Yep! REVIEW! And next chapter up soon!" 


	4. Chapter 4: Connections

Chapter Four: Connections  
  
Notes: ^__^ Thanks for reviewing! And to answer some questions...  
  
First of all, Kiki is Irish, and therefore Japanese would be her second language, so that's why she talks strangely. XD And the festival's going to wait one chapter, because this one sort of ties up a few loose ends, and answers some questions. However...it opens up a few more questions though. ^_~  
  
Oh, and before you read this chapter, has anyone figured out who Kiki is? Aside from Wingweaver Hope. ^^; If you've read Ancient Lies, you should know. ^_~  
  
"And here's Chapter 4!"  
  
************  
  
Chapter Four: Connections  
  
Seto sighed as he lay down on his bed, thinking. He closed his eyes peacefully, enjoying the quietness. He'd already tucked Mokuba in bed, and was debating whether or not he should work a bit more on his latest project before bed.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted, however, as Priest Seto floated through the door, looking around.  
  
"Oh, there you are," he commented, causing Seto to open one eye and look up at the vague outline of the priest.  
  
"Where have you been all day?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"At the museum..." he murmured. "It seems Ishizu thinks that destiny will..."  
  
"...repeat itself. She's said that before," Seto filled in. "She has said a lot of things that never happened, so don't get too worried."  
  
Priest Seto didn't look convinced.  
  
"But she said "dark times" were approaching, and that the past would repeat itself in the modern age," he replied. "You've seen how the past ended, haven't you?"  
  
Seto was silent for a moment, remembering how he'd seen the last battle of the ancient past only a few weeks before, and the battle's end wasn't pretty.  
  
"But still," he replied, sitting up. "That's not going to happen again today."  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"You can't be too sure. Yami Bakura could be up to something, and we know he's still after the Millennium Items..."  
  
Seto sighed, his eyes flickering over to his briefcase, where he was storing the Millennium Rod for the time being.  
  
"I doubt he has enough power to take any of them," he said confidently. "He's been trying to get Yugi's Millennium Items for nearly a year, and he still hasn't succeeded in getting even one," he continued.  
  
"Besides, it's not like we're defenseless," Seto pointed out, referring to the White Dragon as well as his own skills. "Everyone else does a fine job of protecting the items as well."  
  
Priest Seto sighed, turning away.  
  
"The White Dragon..." he muttered, biting his lip. "That shouldn't even be mine..."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused.  
  
"Why not?" he pried.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"It originally belonged to a girl...a pale girl who I found in the streets when people were mistreating her..." he murmured, Seto's eyes widening.  
  
Pale girl in the streets? People threatening her? It was too much to be just coincidence...  
  
"And you stopped them?" Seto cut in, hurriedly.  
  
Priest Seto glanced over at Seto.  
  
"The people? Yes, I was a well respected high priest, people obeyed me," he informed Seto. "Why?"  
  
Seto bit his lip. Could Ishizu be right? Could the past really be repeating itself? No, no, that's nonsense! Seto thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. We make our own destinies!  
  
"Seto Kaiba...what are you thinking about?" Priest Seto asked cautiously.  
  
Seto decided to give in, rather reluctantly.  
  
"This isn't destiny, but I met a girl today who was pale, and was being picked on by some bullies at school," he informed his ancient self. "And I stepped in and "saved" her."  
  
Priest Seto's eyebrows went up drastically.  
  
"Kisara?" he whispered.  
  
************  
  
Yugi lay in bed, tucked under his covers trying to keep warm while Yami was perched on the end of his bed, looking out the window seriously. Yugi sat up and glanced over at Yami, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yami? Is something wrong?" he asked cautiously.  
  
Yami looked over at Yugi and sighed.  
  
"Yugi," he said seriously, looking his aibou in the eye. "Have you noticed that the priest can summon a monster, the White Dragon, despite the fact that he does not own a Millennium Item anymore?"  
  
  
  
Yugi tilted his head.  
  
"I never really paid much attention, but now that you mention it, yeah, that is a little odd," he murmured in reply, thinking back to a battle against Anubis's army in which the priest used the White Dragon.  
  
Yami nodded.  
  
"The White Dragon..." he murmured thoughtfully. "Why is it that he can summon it?"  
  
Yugi shrugged.  
  
"Maybe because he could in the past, or..." he suggested, but Yami wasn't really listening.  
  
"Perhaps it is part of his soul..." he murmured, ignoring Yugi, who narrowed his eyes in thought. "But if that is the case, wouldn't I..."  
  
Yugi now realized what Yami was suggesting.  
  
"Have a monster you could summon too?" Yugi asked.  
  
Yami nodded.  
  
"Strange, isn't it?" he remarked airily.  
  
  
  
Yugi nodded slowly.  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
*************  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"She just gave her name as Kiki," he replied. "She was some dancer from a foreign country."  
  
"She's the reincarnate, she must be!" Priest Seto declared, looking seriously over at Seto. "And if that's true, and destiny IS repeating itself, that girl is in serious danger!"  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, wondering what the priest meant. Then, he remembered how he had mentioned this Kisara being the "original" owner of the White Dragon Ka...  
  
"What did you mean when you said she was the original owner of the White Dragon?" Seto asked curiously.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"After I brought her home, I intended to use her Ka to help protect the palace in the Pharaoh's absence," he replied. "However, my...father, if he could be called that, sacrificed her life to remove the spirit from her and switch it with my original Ka, granting me the White Dragon's powers."  
  
Seto was silent for a moment. Priest Seto's words about his father struck him as odd. That must be another likeness the two of us have, Seto thought to himself.  
  
"So you think she'll be sacrificed again?" Seto asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Priest Seto bit his lip, looking troubled.  
  
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I do not know, but one thing is for sure, you must be on your guard, understand?"  
  
Seto sighed.  
  
"I know what I'm doing," he replied to the priest.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"I hope so," he replied seriously.  
  
*************  
  
A while later, deep into the early ours of the morning, Mokuba was fast asleep in his bed, his covers pulled over his shoulders. However peaceful the boy looked on the outside, however, on the inside of his dream was anything but peaceful.  
  
"Huh?" Mokuba wondered aloud as he realized he was standing alone on the far side of what appeared to be some sort of battle.  
  
  
  
"Niisama?" Mokuba called, seeing what LOOKED like his brother, Yugi, and some others facing off against someone whose face was hidden behind a black cloak-hood.  
  
"Niisama!" Mokuba cried, waving his hand and running toward his brother, when suddenly, a huge, horrible-looking beast appeared, roaring madly.  
  
A high-pitched laughter suddenly filled the chambers of Mokuba's mind, making him cringe, but not stop from trying to reach his brother and the others...  
  
"Niisama!" Mokuba cried again, as the huge beast let out a huge roar, blasting a black force of energy at the entire group gather, and with an enormous explosion, all of them disappeared in a puff of smoke with a horrible yell.  
  
Mokuba's eyes widened in horror.  
  
"No! Niisama!" he cried, stopping short of the horrible scene, where only the beast and the man covered by the hood remained. "NIISAMA!!!!"  
  
***********  
  
Tea sighed, rolling over in bed. She was nervous about her big performance, as well as excited, but was finding it hard to fall asleep, even though she knew in order to do well the next day she needed to rest.  
  
"Oh," she moaned, looking over at the clock, where 3:19 was flashing in neon red numerals. "I just can't sleep..."  
  
Biting her lip, she looked out the window at the full moon that was gleaming brightly outside.  
  
"I know I'll do fine tomorrow," she told herself. "You will do fine, Tea. Besides, the most important thing is to have fun with it, right?"  
  
Tea let out her breath uneasily.  
  
True, that WAS the most important thing, but sometimes it didn't really seem that way. After watching the Irish dancers, Tea couldn't help but feel a bit inferior to them. They were so...perfect, it seemed, yet Tea could find every mistake in her dancing group's practices and STLL not be able to correct them.  
  
"Well...I guess there's nothing else to do but wait," she thought worriedly to herself. "Wait..."  
  
***********  
  
"NIISAMA!"  
  
Seto's eyes snapped open and he sprang up in bed, Priest Seto opening his eyes as well from where he'd been sitting in Seto's computer chair.  
  
"That sounded like..." The priest began, but Seto's was already on his feet and practically out the door.  
  
"Mokuba!" Seto cried, running down the hallway to his brother's bedroom.  
  
He opened the door to see the boy sitting up in bed, hugging his knees and sobbing softly.  
  
"Niisama..." he whispered, Seto walking over to him and putting a comforting arm around his shoulder.  
  
"Mokuba...what's wrong?" he asked, causing Mokuba to look up into his eyes.  
  
"Niisama..." he sobbed, hugging Seto tightly, to Seto's confusion.  
  
Priest Seto was watching from the door, concerned as to why Mokuba was acting so scared.  
  
  
  
"It's okay..." Seto whispered soothingly, hugging Mokuba back. "Can you tell me what happened?"  
  
Mokuba sniffed, letting go and brushing a tear off his cheek.  
  
  
  
"I just had a horrible dream...but it seemed so real..." he stammered, Seto listening attentively. "You were...fighting some weird guy...and then he called this big monster out and you...you..."  
  
Seto, knowing what Mokuba was going to say, broke in.  
  
"I know, but it was just a dream," he replied, looking right into Mokuba's eyes. "I'm still here, and I'm fine. And so are you."  
  
Mokuba nodded, still looking scared.  
  
"It was just so real though..." he said, hugging Seto again. "Sorry I woke you up..."  
  
  
  
Seto shrugged with a smile.  
  
"That doesn't matter," he replied honestly. "Now, can you go back sleep? You don't want to be tired for the festival tomorrow."  
  
Mokuba smiled.  
  
"No," he replied, getting under his covers again as Seto tucked him in. "I don't. Thanks, niisama."  
  
Seto smiled, walking toward the door.  
  
"Good night, Mokuba," he replied, softly closing the door, then sighing.  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"A frightening dream?" he inquired, Seto nodding.  
  
"Yeah..." he murmured, walking slowly back toward his own bedroom. "I wonder why though?"  
  
Priest Seto shrugged, uncertain.  
  
Did the dream have something to do with the future as well?  
  
***********  
  
The next morning, the students of Domino High were all waiting anxiously in their classrooms for the start of the festival to be announced. Yugi and his friends were finishing up the last-minute jobs they hadn't completed the day before, and the performers were all getting ready for their own shows.  
  
Duke spread out a tablecloth over a small table underneath a booth he'd set up near the field. He and Amber were going to take turns running a card stand, where Duke would be selling single, rare cards and packs of cards, as well as advertise his shop.  
  
"I think this is going to be a profitable stand," Amber remarked, studying the booth. "Who doesn't like trading cards? Especially Duel Monsters."  
  
She winked.  
  
Duke nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yep, I hope we get at least some business," he commented.  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi was filling the water containers up with Seto near the side of the school, and then lugging them over to a table where Taerro was putting out paper cups.  
  
"I think this ought to be enough," Taerro sighed, wiping water off of his glasses.  
  
Yugi nodded in agreement.  
  
"I hope so," he commented, his eyes wandering toward the performance hall, where a group of Spanish dancers were flocking up the stairs, their long skirts flowing as they walked. "I'm interested to see what all the booths from different countries look like."  
  
Taerro nodded eagerly.  
  
"Me too!" he replied.  
  
With all the excitement in the air, however, no one noticed the dark figure lurking around near the auditorium, waiting for his chance.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
REVIEW!!!  
  
"Yes, please do, and next chapter up soon!" ^_~ 


	5. Chapter 5: Missing

Chapter Five: Missing  
  
Notes: Thanks for reviews guys! And to answer some questions...  
  
^_^ Yes, cute brotherly moment. ^^ Love those. And I'm glad someone spotted that link to Ancient Lies with Amber and Duke. ^^ Yep, there'll be more of those. And Priest Seto's original Ka was Diosu, which to me looks kind of like a flaming soldier. ^^; Check out manga scans on Janime's website if you want a picture.  
  
XD Malik, no you're not in the story yet, but you will probably show up sometime. ^_~ And will I kill Seto? I don't think I could bring myself to do it, but then again, I had Priest Seto die in Ancient Lies...  
  
"O_O!!!"  
  
^^;;; Okay! Moving on!  
  
"Yeah! ^_^ And here's chapter five!"  
  
************  
  
Chapter Five: Missing  
  
Amber sighed, leaning over the booth in boredom. The festival had started half an hour ago, and she'd let Duke, and the other go off to enjoy the festival while she took first shift at the booth. So far, she'd sold one pack of cards.  
  
  
  
"Sheesh, doesn't anyone know good prices when they see them?" she asked exasperatedly as she looked at the price tag she'd put on a Gemini Elves card. "This is cheap!"  
  
However, everyone else seemed to be spending their money on food from different parts of the world rather than on cards they could get every day at Duke and Yugi's game stores.  
  
Amber let her shoulders sag.  
  
"This is going to be a LONG day," she muttered, twirling a little piece of her hair around her finger in front of her, bored.  
  
*************  
  
Meanwhile, Seto had been looking around for the bus that would be coming from the elementary schools, with Mokuba and his classmates. After a while of searching, he finally saw a yellow bus pull into the parking lot.   
  
"Finally," he murmured to himself, running over to greet Mokuba.  
  
He'd promised him that the two could spend the day together at the festival. Priest Seto was also there, watching from a distance as Seto approached the bus.  
  
A tall femal teacher stepped out, eyeing Seto suspiciously.  
  
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked rather snappishly. "We're waiting to see the festival."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
  
  
"And I'm waiting for my little brother," he replied. "I'm going to take him around the festival. His name is Mokuba."  
  
Suddenly, after that sentence, the woman's attitude did a complete 180. She smiled sweetly as the kids began to get off the bus.  
  
"Well," she said cheerily, as Mokuba ran over to his brother with a grin. "Since you'll be taking Mokuba around, I'm sure you won't mind if a few of his friends came along with you."  
  
She gestured to five other young boys, two of whom looked as though they were miniature gangsters, one who looked like a geek, another who looked somewhat normal, and a last one who was eating a lollipop loudly.  
  
"We're a bit short on chaperones," The teacher whispered to Seto, who sighed in frustration.  
  
Taking Mokuba around the fair was one thing. Taking Mokuba AND a bunch of rowdy ten-year olds was another. But it didn't seem like he had much of a choice...  
  
Priest Seto glanced over at the auditorium, where loud music was pouring out and there was screaming and clapping from inside.  
  
"What IS he doing over there?" Priest Seto wondered anxiously, wanting to find this girl who resembled Kisara.  
  
"Who needs chaperones!" One of the gangster boys called out in irritation. "We're not babies, teach."  
  
The teacher gave the boy a silencing look and then smiled up at Seto again.  
  
"You won't mind, will you?" she asked, Mokuba frowning.  
  
"I wanted to go around with SETO, not my classmates," he thought to himself with a sigh.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Fine, but they had better follow instructions," he said seriously. "I don't have much patience with troublemakers."  
  
The woman smiled broadly, ushering the boys toward Seto and Mokuba.  
  
"They'll follow every direction you give them," she replied. "Right boys?"  
  
No one replied for a moment, but at last the geek spoke up.  
  
"Um...right!" he replied with a grin, sounding completely unsure.  
  
Shaking his head, Seto turned and walked back toward the fair grounds, Mokuba, and the five other boys right behind him. Priest Seto raised an eyebrow at the new group.  
  
"What are you doing with all those other boys?" he inquired as Seto walked by, looking very grumpy.  
  
"I'm acting as their chaperone," Seto replied shortly.  
  
Priest Seto looked down at the group. Mokuba was sticking close to Seto while the other boys trailed behind. The geek was reading some foreign dictionary, the two gangster kids talking quietly amongst themselves, the normal boy admiring the scenery, and the boy with the lollipop sucking away at it.  
  
"It's going to be a lot more difficult to be on the lookout for things with those kids with you," Priest Seto pointed out, looking back at them again. "Why did you agree to that anyway?"  
  
Seto clenched a fist in anger.  
  
"It was forced on me, I didn't AGREE to it," he replied, irritated.  
  
"Hey! Who you talking to up there, skinny?" One of the rough boys asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"I thought they taught you to have more respect to people older than you," Seto replied coldly, looking back at the boy. "Who I talk to is not your concern."  
  
As soon as Seto turned around, the boy who had asked did a mocking impression of Seto, causing everyone, including the geek, to burst out laughing. Mokuba sighed, leaning on Seto.  
  
"These kids are the worst in the class," he muttered in a low voice. "They're menaces."  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"I can tell," he replied with a sigh.  
  
Priest Seto nodded, horrified.  
  
************  
  
Yugi pointed at a strange Greek pastry as they walked by a stand.  
  
"That looks cool," he remarked, fishing around in his pocket for some change.  
  
Joey drooled as he looked longingly over at the pastry.  
  
"I'll say..." he murmured dreamily.  
  
Duke's eyes widened as he glanced down at the price of the fancy pastry.  
  
"Uh guys?" he asked, backing away. "Let's buy a candy bar at the next vending machine instead, okay?"  
  
Taerro squinted at the price at coughed.  
  
"Y...yeah," he muttered, pulling Yugi and Joey away from the stand.  
  
"Awww!" Joey muttered, allowing himself to be dragged off by Tristan and Taerro. "It smelled soooo good!"  
  
Tristan, looking rather horrified, shook his head.  
  
"But that price was making me sick," he replied, looking around. "So where to next? We've seen just about all these stands."  
  
Yugi's eyes wandered over to the auditorium and he checked his watch.  
  
"Well, it's only ten minutes before the Irish dancing show starts, and after that, Tea and her group will be performing," he said with a small grin, hoping no one would find the suggestion suspicious.  
  
Taerro nodded.  
  
"That seems like a very interesting course of action," he commented, starting to walk toward the theater. "Let's check it out."  
  
Duke checked his watch as well.  
  
"You guys go on, I've got to go switch shifts before Amber kills me," he said, jogging off in the opposite direction.  
  
Joey sighed.  
  
"Do they sell popcorn at the theater?" he asked Tristan as the two followed after Taerro and Yugi.  
  
Tristan sighed, his shoulders slumping.  
  
"Would it kill you if I said no?" he asked Joey sarcastically.  
  
************  
  
Yami Bakura glanced around the theater, looking at all the performers and people flocking around, in and out of the building.  
  
"In order to gain what I need, I must have a mortal being in my possession," he murmured, watching as one pale girl's scarf blew away in the wind over around to the side of the building where he was watching from. "Any mortal will do..."  
  
The girl clutched her neck in irritation then turned back to her fellow performers.  
  
"Go on in and get things ready," she called over the noise as she made her way through the crowd. "I'll be there in a minute!"  
  
Another girl nodded, smiling.  
  
"Hurry up, Kiki!" she called, following the others inside the building while Kiki ran around the corner and looked around.  
  
"Scarf...scarf...scarf..." she murmured, glancing around for it, her puffy girl dancing skirt flapping around in the wind.  
  
Yami Bakura smirked as she noticed the scarf lying on the ground behind the building completely where no one was. No one, that is, aside from him.  
  
"There you are," Kiki sighed, walked over to it and picking it up. "I'll have to tie a tighter knot next time..."  
  
She was cut off from saying anymore, however, as two hands reached out from behind her and grabbed her.  
  
"Help!" she tried to make out, but on hand clasped tightly over her mouth while the other held her arms.  
  
"Heh, heh..." Came a high-pitched and eerie sounding voice, causing Kiki's eyes to go wide. "I am afraid, young girl, that you will have to miss your performance because I am in need of your...assistance..."  
  
*************  
  
Tea nervously hopped on one foot, then switched to the other as she waited behind the stage with her dance classmates. The Irish dancers were all putting on the last minute touches to their costumes and were waiting around for the magic act on stage to end.  
  
"Where is Kiki?" One of the girls asked suddenly, looking around. "She said she would be in the building in a moment."  
  
Tea narrowed her eyes.  
  
"She has to be here in two minutes!" Another girl cried frantically, putting down a compact mirror. "We HAVE to have her in the show!"  
  
Tea bit her lip. Although she needed to prepare for her own performance as well, maybe she could help out these girls, as they were getting desperate.  
  
"What does Kiki look like?" she asked, stepping forward. "Maybe I can go find her while you finish getting ready?"  
  
The first girl looked gratefully over at Tea.  
  
"Would you do that?" she asked with a small smile. "We'd all really appreciate it. She has white hair, really pale skin, and wears a choker around her neck with a dragon on it."  
  
Tea nodded with a determined smile.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be right back!" she called to both the Irish dancers and her own classmates taking off down the backstage corridor.  
  
"Hurry back, Tea!" One of Tea's dance-mates called after her, biting her lip. "Our show can't go on without her," she added softly to herself.  
  
************  
  
As Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Taerro approached the crowded entrance to the auditorium, the Millennium Puzzle suddenly lit up brightly around Yugi's neck, and Yami appeared beside Yugi in spiritual form.  
  
"Yami! What is it?" Yugi asked worriedly, his partner looking serious.  
  
"I just sensed trouble..." he murmured, looking around. "And a Millennium Item behind it!"  
  
Yugi's eyes widened.  
  
"Should we go see what the problem is?" he asked urgently, his three friends staring at him oddly.  
  
"Yugi...?" Joey asked, as Yami nodded.  
  
"I think we should."  
  
With that said, Yugi took off around the corner of the theater house, following the instincts of the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
"Yami sensed something evil, I'm going to go check it out, be back in a few minutes!" he yelled in a blur back at his friends, who blinked.  
  
"Um..." Taerro began, looking at the other two.  
  
Joey shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Looks like he's got it under control," he said, gesturing toward the theater house. "We'll go in and save him a seat."  
  
Tristan nodded slowly, still staring at the spot where Yugi had run away from.  
  
"Okay..." he replied, unsure, getting caught up in the flow of people toward the auditorium.   
  
************  
  
"Yami...what exactly do you sense?" Yugi asked, running down a narrow path through some trees in the woods behind the auditorium.  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Bakura," he murmured. "The evil spirit of the ring is in possession of him again, and I sense great trouble."  
  
Yugi bit his lip, stopping at a fork in the path and looking both ways, panting. There were three paths now...and all of them looked equally traveled upon.  
  
"Which way should I go, Yami?" Yugi asked, looking up at Yami hopefully.  
  
************  
  
Yami Bakura, however, who was only a few feet ahead down one of the paths, holding Kiki's limp body, smirked.  
  
"How about, no way?" he murmured with a laugh, the Millennium Ring lighting up and a blue glow forming behind him. "Destroy Yugi Motou," he instructed the monster that was forming before taking off down the path once again.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Seto, Priest Seto, Mokuba, and the group of kids behind them, were walking through the Greek pastry aisle that Joey and the others had been in before.  
  
"Don't touch those cakes unless you have enough money to buy them," Seto instructed plainly, and coldly as they walked by.  
  
One of the gangster kids smirked, reaching out for one.  
  
"Well, if we do, you'll just have to pay for it," he called at Seto, who was walking ahead with Mokuba.  
  
"Don't do that!" Priest Seto yelled, but it was too late, and besides which, no one could hear him anyway.  
  
One boy picked up one of the sticky pastries and let go of it over the ground, smirking.  
  
"Too late!" he called, as the pastry fell.  
  
  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 5  
  
Red: "My, my, Seto has something to worry about. How much did those things cost, anyway?"  
  
SK: **whispers amount* ^^;;;  
  
Red: O_O!!  
  
Review please!!!! And next chapter up soon!!! ^_^ 


	6. Chapter 6: Deja Vu

Chapter Six: Déjà vu  
  
Notes: ^_^ Chapter 6, coming your way! And yeah, XD those boys are menaces.  
  
"And thanks for reviewing!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Six: Déjà Vu  
  
"Don't do that!" Seto yelled, as the pastry fell to the ground, landing in the grass.  
  
The owner of the stand angrily glared at the boy who'd committed the terrible act.  
  
"I am hoping you intent to PAY for that, young lad," he snarled, clenching his fists in fury to think that disrespectful children would just come running through and destroying his hard work.  
  
The boy smirked, putting on an act.  
  
"I'm so sorry sir, it was an accident, really it was," he said in his most pitiable tone. "But I haven't got any money with me. Mr. Kaiba, can you pay for it please?"  
  
He smirked at Seto, whose mouth thinned as he clenched his fists.  
  
"Fine," he snapped, paying for the pastry reluctantly. "Now you..." he started to say, turning around to find all of the children, with the exception of Mokuba, gone.  
  
Seto felt the urge to scream in frustration, but resisted, merely gritting his teeth as he spoke.  
  
"Where did those kids go?" he asked slowly, trying to remain calm.  
  
Mokuba sighed, shrugging.  
  
"They just took off toward the theater," he said, kicking a pebble. "They always do that. Cause trouble, then ditch their teacher, and hope they won't bother looking."  
  
Seto huffed.  
  
"I have to admit, that's exactly what I feel like right now," he agreed.  
  
Priest Seto shook his head.  
  
"Times certainly have changed," he sighed, looking horrified. "When I was alive, boys didn't behave like that at all."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Your time was 3000 years ago," he reminded the priest, who shrugged, embarrassedly.  
  
"Oh well," Priest Seto replied, getting serious again and turning sharply toward the theater.  
  
Mokuba tilted his head.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked the spirit, who looked confused.  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes in thought.  
  
"I thought I sensed something in the woods behind that theater," he murmured, starting to go forward a little.  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"For now we need to find those kids," he sighed, looking around.  
  
Priest Seto nodded, eyes still fixated on the woods.  
  
"Yes..." he murmured.  
  
***********  
  
Yugi panted, starting to walk toward the center path.  
  
"Maybe we should just try this one..." he started to say to Yami, when suddenly, a giant figure jumped out of the bushes, holding a long, saber-like weapon in its blue hand.  
  
"Whoa!" Yugi cried, jumping backwards as it slashed at him, making a noise like a mix between laughter and a moan. "It's the..."  
  
"Earl of Demise!" Yami finished, looking astonished. "The evil spirit of the Millennium Ring must have summoned it!"  
  
  
  
Yugi nodded, ducking under a blow and scurrying down the center path, trying to evade another blow from the horrid monster.  
  
  
  
"Hurry Yugi!" Yami yelled, watching his partner run down on the ground, trying to escape the horrid monster.  
  
This continued for sometime, until the two were deep into the forest, past where the paths ended, so now poor Yugi was running away, deep in the heart of the forest, tripping over rocks and twigs as he tried desperately to get away.  
  
"Ha!" The Earl yelled at last, raising his blade and throwing it ahead, where its sharp blade cut clean through a huge tree, causing it to fall down, right where Yugi was going to end up in a matter of seconds.  
  
"Yugi!" Yami cried again, preparing to take control of his friend's body, but realizing it would be too late by that time.  
  
Yugi's eyes widened as he tried to skid to a halt in time, but in doing so, tripped over a huge root that was sticking out of the ground, causing him to fall forward and right into the tree's path.  
  
"No!" Yami yelled, watching in horror as the tree hit the ground with a sickening thud, and the Earl of Demise disappeared.  
  
************  
  
Tea jumped as a small thud sounded through the area, causing her to look around, trying to find the source. Going back to the matter at hand, she glanced down at the slim watch around her wrist. She bit her lip frantically.  
  
"That act started two minutes ago, and I haven't seen any sign of this Kiki person," she murmured, looking around desperately for some sign of this mysterious girl.  
  
After another ten minutes, however, she gave up.  
  
"If I don't get back in there," she thought to herself, running up the empty stairs to the auditorium. "I'll miss MY act!"  
  
************  
  
"Yoo hoo?" Mokuba called, looking around for some sign of the boys. "Where are you guys?"  
  
Seto sighed, letting his shoulders sag.  
  
"This is pointless," he muttered, dropping his briefcase to the floor for a moment to give his arm a break from carrying it. "They're probably watching the show in the theater, and we definitely won't be able to find them if they're in the audience."  
  
Priest Seto nodded solemnly.  
  
"True," he replied, when suddenly, the briefcase Seto had dropped shook violently.  
  
Mokuba jumped and backed away.  
  
"Niisama! What's wrong with your case?!" he cried, pointing a shaking finger at it.  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow curiously and bent down beside it, lifting the latches and opening it up, revealing an enormous amount of gold light, coming from the Millennium Rod.  
  
"The Millennium Rod!" Priest Seto cried, floating down on the other side of the case as Seto took out the rod and held it out.   
  
"Why is it glowing like that?" Seto asked aloud, turning it around and examining it.  
  
Mokuba bit his lip.  
  
"Niisama, the Millennium Rod glows? Like the Millennium Puzzle?" he asked, tilting his head. "Does that mean you can use its powers like Yugi can for the puzzle?"  
  
Seto gritted his teeth.  
  
"I don't use the Millennium Rod's powers," he replied quickly, not wanting his brother to think he actually needed the Millennium Rod in any way.  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"It must be reacting to another Millennium Item nearby," he declared, looking around. "Someone, possibly Yugi and the Pharaoh, are nearby and using their own item's powers."  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"I guess that makes sense..." he murmured, turning the rod over again.  
  
The brilliant glow died down slightly, and Seto sighed, storing it back in the briefcase again.  
  
"I guess it doesn't matter," Seto declared, standing up again and brushing grass clippings from the neatly cut lawn off of his coattail.  
  
Mokuba was still looking at the briefcase where the Millennium Rod had been suspiciously.  
  
"Maybe someone's in trouble," he suggested, looking up at his brother and Priest Seto for approval.  
  
Both, however, seemed lost in thought.  
  
***********  
  
"Yugi!" Yami cried, looking frantically through the dust for some sign of his partner. "Yugi!"  
  
"Yami..."  
  
Yami's ears perked up, but it wasn't Yugi's real voice that he was hearing, but the mental voice of his partner.  
  
"Yugi!" he replied in a hurry through the mental link. "Yugi where are you?"  
  
"Yami...I...I rolled under the tree and down the...hill..." Came Yugi's weak mental reply. "There...there's a...stream..."  
  
The mental link cut off abruptly as Yugi undoubtedly fell unconscious. Yami's purple eyes widened in horror.  
  
"Yugi!" he cried, but there was no reply.  
  
Biting his lip, he floated down the hill Yugi had mentioned, over the dust and debris from the tree. Searching frantically for a glimpse of his friend from below, he finally caught sight of the steam, where a small body of flowing water was rushing down the slope.  
  
Quickly, Yami floated down and noticed the blue of Yugi's coat.  
  
"Yugi!" he cried, floating over to Yugi, who was lying, half-emerged in the stream.  
  
He looked rather roughed-up from his fall and the chase, but he was still alive, thankfully, Yami thought to himself, breathing a sigh of relief as he knelt down next his friend.  
  
"Wake up, Yugi..." he thought mentally, wishing his partner would wake up, as it was starting to get darker outside as the late afternoon approached.  
  
***********  
  
Inside the auditorium, Tea nervously ran back up to the stage, where the Irish dancers were performing without Kiki, all looking slightly nervous, but trying to make a good show of it.  
  
"THERE you are Tea!" One of her friends cried, grabbing her arm. "Hurry! Put on your dance skirt before they finish!"  
  
Tea bit her lip as she slipped off her school skirt and put on the dance one.  
  
"I couldn't find Kiki," she panted, tying the lace in the back of the skirt after she pulled it on. "Did she ever show up here?"  
  
  
  
Her friend shook her head no.  
  
"Nope, she never showed. The Irish girls just went onstage without her," she replied, glancing out at them as they performed. "And hey, they're not bad either."  
  
Tea nodded, watching the movements in interest.  
  
"Yeah...Irish dancing looks really cool..." she murmured before another girl cut her off.  
  
"They're done!" she called, as the audience clapped happily and the girls smiled, faces flushed from the exercise. "So we'd better stop thinking about Irish dancing and think about our OWN dancing!"  
  
Tea nodded, determined. She was NOT going to let this opportunity go by without putting out her best effort. But still, she thought to herself as she and her group walked out onstage, throwing a friendly smile at the Irish girls as they passed them, where could that girl named Kiki have gone to miss her big performance?  
  
***********  
  
Out in the audience, near the center of the theater, Joey, Tristan, and Taerro sat in the middle of a row, Taerro having draped his sweater over a fourth seat that they were saving for Yugi.  
  
"Hey look, it's Tea!" Tristan whispered to Joey, who clapped with the rest of the audience as the group made their way onstage.  
  
"Yeah," Joey agreed, looking at Taerro and noticing the empty seat beside him. "Hey! Where's Yugi?"  
  
Taerro shrugged, looking concerned.  
  
"No idea," he replied as the clapping died down and Tea and the others took their positions on the stage. "He didn't show up yet."  
  
Tristan narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Weird...he'd never miss Tea's big act," he murmured, looking up at Tea as she began to dance across the stage with the others.  
  
Joey bit his lip.  
  
"You think something happened to him?" he asked, looking over at Tristan to see his face.  
  
Tristan shrugged.  
  
"I hope not..." Taerro murmured, turning around to see if Yugi were wandering around the back of the theater, but their friend was nowhere in sight.  
  
************  
  
Seto panted as he ran over to a Dunk the Teacher booth, where the secretary from the principal's office was sitting precariously in a small chair as the two gangster boys tossed their balls furiously at the target, hoping to see the poor secretary dunked.  
  
"Oh my!" she cried, as the ball narrowly missed the target.  
  
She sighed with relief, noticing the boys only had one more ball, and only one more shot to dunk her. So far, she'd been lucky that day, but every toss made her quiver. She really had no intention of being dunked in the icy cold water below.  
  
"There they are, niisama!" Mokuba cried, pointing at the two boys as they aimed the ball at the target again.  
  
Priest Seto gaped.  
  
"What on Earth are they doing to that poor woman?!" he cried, watching as the secretary trembled in fear as one of the boys pulled his arm back, ready to take his last shot. "Trying to drown her?!"  
  
Seto, however, wasn't listening. Instead, he ran up and grabbed one of the boy's hands, causing him to shriek. The other, the one holding the ball, jumped, and threw the ball forward, where it landed right on the target, and the floor dropped out.  
  
"Aaaa!" The secretary cried, as she fell into the icy cold water below.  
  
Priest Seto looked horrified.  
  
"Isn't someone going to rescue her?!" he cried, looking around at the two boys, Seto, and Mokuba, all of whom weren't moving toward the booth at all.  
  
Mokuba giggled as the secretary resurfaced, gasping for breath and climbing back up the ladder to sanctuary.  
  
"It's a Dunk the Teacher booth, priest," he giggled. "You're SUPPOSED to try to get the person wet, not drown them."  
  
Priest Seto looked slightly embarrassed.  
  
"Oh," he replied, biting his lip as the Seto confronted the two boys.  
  
"Look here, I've had about enough of chasing you two around this festival," Seto said sternly, looking both the boys directly in the eye. "Now either you follow me and don't touch a THING or I report you to your teacher and you can wait on the bus for the rest of the afternoon."  
  
One boy scowled.  
  
"Okay fine," he snapped, yanking his arm out of Seto's grasp. "You don't have to be so mean about it."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes further.  
  
"Where are the other three?" he demanded, not letting go of the other boy.  
  
Mokuba jumped.  
  
"There they are!" he shouted, pointing as the three other boys ran up, all licking lollipops now.  
  
Seto sighed, looking quite disgruntled.  
  
"Now as I said to them before, either you stay with me and don't touch ANYTHING, or you go back to your bus for the remainder of the festival," he repeated in irritation.  
  
The boy who was carrying the pocket dictionary gulped.  
  
"Okay!" he replied nervously, looking at Seto's briefcase strangely.  
  
  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"What is it now?" he demanded.  
  
The boy gulped.  
  
"Nothing, really, just that...did you leave a flashlight on in your briefcase or something? Cause there's a lot of light coming out of the cracks," he muttered, embarrassed, pointing to the briefcase, where a stream of gold light was coming out of the crease in the top.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 6  
  
^_^ Review everyone!  
  
"Yep! ^_^; Thanks! And come back soon for the next chapter!" 


	7. Chapter 7: Searching

Chapter Seven: Searching  
  
Notes: ^_^ Nothing new, just thanks for reviewing, and here's the next chapter.  
  
"^_^; Yep!"  
  
************  
  
Chapter Seven: Searching  
  
Seto scowled, hiding the briefcase behind him.  
  
"It's nothing, just my penlight," he lied, hoping they would stop bugging him about it, but inwardly he was puzzled.  
  
"Why is the Millennium Rod continually glowing?" he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Priest Seto looked confused as well.  
  
"There must be danger nearby," he murmured to Seto, knowing that the five boys couldn't hear or see him.  
  
Seto closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to what Priest Seto had talked about the night before. For a moment, the scene where he had rescued Kiki played over again in his mind, but a minute later, the vision changed slightly, and a woman who looked like Kiki was there, in the rough streets of a strange village...  
  
Seto's eyes snapped opened again. Was that the ancient Kiki? He thought to himself, shivering before coming back to his senses.  
  
"All right, come on now," he said gruffly to the boys as Mokuba watched the secretary do her best to dry herself off with a small towel.  
  
"Honestly, a Dunk the Teacher booth in November," she muttered, her teeth chattering as she spoke. "What was the school board thinking of?"  
  
Mokuba couldn't help but chuckled as he hurried after Seto, Priest Seto, and the other boys.  
  
************  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Kiki moaned as she opened her blue eyes to find herself in a dank and dark room.  
  
"Where am I?" she murmured, attempting to move her arms, only to find they had been tied tightly behind her to the damp chair she was sitting in. "Oh!" she cried, tugging at the rope, trying to break free, to no avail.  
  
The ropes were tied too tightly around her arms to get loose. Her legs, too, were both tied together with a thick rope, so tight she could scarcely move them.  
  
"Who in the world did this to me?" she murmured, biting her lip as she tried to wiggle loose.  
  
Suddenly, a high-pitched laughter answered her question as white-haired Yami Bakura walked into the room, a smirk on his face and the Millennium Ring glowing brightly around his neck.  
  
Kiki gasped.  
  
"Who are you?" she demanded immediately, narrowing her eyes.  
  
Yami Bakura smiled.  
  
"Someone of great power," he hissed walking over to her.  
  
Kiki bit her lip.  
  
"Really? And is this another traditional Japanese greeting custom?" she snapped, feeling rather irritated. "Because I will have you know I have had just about enough..."  
  
Yami Bakura chuckled.  
  
"I am not Japanese, foolish mortal," he corrected her. "I am Egyptian."  
  
Kiki scrunched up her nose.  
  
"Well, you are a fine representative of your country," she replied sarcastically. "I am sure they think SO highly of you."  
  
Yami Bakura scowled, irritated by Kiki's comments.  
  
"I personally do not care WHAT my country thinks of me," he retorted sharply. "To them, I am an evil that has been dead for 3000 years."  
  
Kiki raised an eyebrow, confused.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, swallowing.  
  
Yami Bakura laughed, walking over to a small table that sat in the middle of the dank room.  
  
"It is of no relevance to you, foolish mortal," he replied airily. "After all, you won't be around much longer to understand anyway."  
  
Kiki swallowed again, feeling nervous.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, trying to feel as confident as she sounded.  
  
Yami Bakura grinned again.  
  
"You, mortal girl, are going to be the sacrifice I need to gain the power of the White Dragon," he explained with a sly smirk.  
  
Kiki's eyes widened in horror.  
  
"S...sacrifice?" she repeated in a whisper.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Joey, Taerro, and Tristan watched as Tea continued her graceful dance onstage, looking quite cheery. As Tea took a spin, she glanced out in the audience, hoping for a glimpse of her friends somewhere.  
  
She scanned quickly as she took a spin, and caught sight of Joey, Tristan, then Taerro...  
  
"Huh?" she murmured, narrowing her eyes as she noticed an empty seat beside Taerro. "Where's Yugi?"  
  
As she continued her dance, she realized with a pang of worry that Yugi was nowhere in the audience at all.  
  
"Where could he be?" she thought with concern, biting her lip gently as she tried to keep a smile up for the show. "Oh, I hope he's not in trouble!"  
  
************  
  
Amber sighed, counting the money she and Duke had collected in the cash box so far.   
  
"Man, we've hardly made anything," she sighed, replacing the top tray and stowing the cash box back under the stand. "Sorry Duke, maybe I'm just not a good salesperson."  
  
Duke smiled with a shrug.  
  
"Aw, it's not your fault, Amber," he replied. "After all, a real gamer would take these cards regardless of the price," he reminded her. "Guess there're just not real gamers around..."  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"That's for sure," she agreed, glancing down at her watch. "Wow, it's getting late already," Amber murmured, noticing it was already 5:34. "We may as well pack up the cards and stuff. Tea should be finished with her dance and stuff."  
  
Duke nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yeah..." he sighed. "It's amazing how time just slips away from you."  
  
Amber sighed, looking over at the auditorium, from which now all the students and people that had been watching the dances and performances were leaving, ready to go home.  
  
"Well, we might as well go meet up the others," Amber said, picking up the bag full of cards that hadn't sold.  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"Yep!" he called starting to run over to the auditorium with a laugh. "Race you!"  
  
Amber grinned determinedly.  
  
"You're on!"  
  
*************  
  
Tea hurried out from backstage, looking paranoid. During the entire show, Yugi hadn't showed up once! There was definitely something amiss; Yugi would never miss her show without a reason!  
  
Biting her lip and trying to get away from all of the people coming to congratulate her and the other performers, she made her way off the backstage, and outside into the fresh air.  
  
"Yugi?" she called amidst the crowds of people flocking by. "Yugi!"  
  
"Tea!"  
  
Tea whirled around as a familiar voice called her name, hoping to see Yugi, but only to find Joey, Tristan, and Taerro standing behind her.  
  
"You were great, Tea," Taerro complimented, swinging his sweater over his shoulder. "Very excellent."  
  
Tea forced a smile.  
  
"Thanks, Taerro," she replied, looking around frantically. "But where's Yugi?"  
  
Joey shrugged nervously.  
  
  
  
"I don't know," he replied honestly, digging the toe of his shoe into the ground. "He said he'd be right back before we went into the auditorium, but then he never showed up again."  
  
Tea's legs wobbled a little.  
  
"He went off somewhere and never came back?!" Tea exclaimed. "Which way did he go?!"  
  
Tristan sighed.  
  
"He looked like he was heading toward the woods back there," he said, pointing around back of the auditorium. "But if we're gonna go searching for him, we'd better do it fast, because there's not much daylight left."  
  
Tea nodded, running toward the woods.  
  
"Yugi!"  
  
************  
  
Across the sands of Egypt, on top the large stone temple sacred to the Egyptian gods, Bastet, the sleek, black cat goddess was stretched out on the roof, sunning herself happily.  
  
"Anubis has been put away for the time being, and my duties are going smoothly," she sighed, smiling for a change. "What a nice feeling."  
  
Suddenly, she bolted upright, sensing something strange. Looking around with narrowed eyes, she realized where it was coming from.  
  
"Domino?" she asked aloud. "What are those mortal troublemakers doing NOW?"  
  
Biting her lip, she hoped down from the roof and onto the stone floor outside the temple.  
  
"Well, I'll just have to see now, won't I?" she murmured, walking into the temple.  
  
************  
  
"Yugi!" Tea cried, walking through the dark woods, Tristan holding up a flashlight behind her as they searched for their friend. "Yugi, where are you?!"  
  
Joey shivered, looking around nervously.  
  
"This is getting too weird for words," he muttered, biting his lip. "When we went up to the office to report that Yugi was missing, they told us that another girl was missing too."  
  
Tea nodded, feeling even eerier than Joey did.  
  
"Yeah, this Irish dancer named Kiki," she told him, turning around and facing him, her face pale with fear. "She never showed up for her performance this afternoon."  
  
Taerro was examining the ground, trying to find a track of some sort that might resemble a tennis sneaker like Yugi wore. He raised an eyebrow upon finding a strange track in the ground, feeling along the rigid outline.  
  
"Tristan, give me a light, will you?" he asked, wiping a droplet of water off of his glasses as Tristan shown the light over to where Taerro was bent down and looking at the ground with curiosity.  
  
"What is it?" Tea asked, clutching the back of Joey's coat.  
  
  
  
Taerro raised an eyebrow.  
  
"It's a shoeprint..." he murmured, standing up. "But it isn't Yugi's. In fact, it looks much too big to belong to even Joey."  
  
"There's a bigfoot out here?!" Joey cried, shivering.  
  
Taerro narrowed his eyes in frustration.  
  
  
  
"I didn't say that, Joey," he replied, glancing down at the footprint again. "I'm saying that if Yugi had been kidnapped, being as light as he is, the kidnapper could have picked him up easily and brought him through these woods."  
  
"Oh!" Tea cried.  
  
Tristan nodded slowly.  
  
"I get what you're saying," he replied, bending down to look at the footprint as well. "This footprint, if your theory is correct, is the kidnapper's."  
  
Taerro nodded.  
  
"Precisely," he replied. "Although, I hate to think that our friend was kidnapped, but with that other girl missing too, it's just too much of a coincidence."  
  
Joey nodded, but jumped as he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him.  
  
"Yow!" he cried, ducking behind Tea, who frowned as a police officer walked into view.  
  
"Kids?" he asked, highlighting each of them in turn with his flashlight. "You shouldn't be out here at this hour, especially with a kidnapper on the loose."  
  
"But our friend is missing!" Tristan protested, stepping forward. "We have to look for him."  
  
The officer smiled gently.   
  
"I know how you feel son, and that's why we're doing everything we can to locate these missing persons," he explained. "But it would be best for everyone if you all just went home now. We'll call you as SOON as we find anything."  
  
Taerro bit his lip but nodded obediently.  
  
"All right," he agreed, moving toward the exit of the woods. "But there's a footprint there you might want to check out," he added, pointing toward the print he'd discovered. "It might be helpful."  
  
"Thank you son," The officer replied, watching as Joey pulled Tea away from the woods, Tea glancing back longingly.  
  
"Yugi..." she whispered worriedly.  
  
  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, back at the grounds, Seto watched as the kids he'd been watching all boarded the rickety old bus that would take them back to the elementary school.  
  
"Thanks for watching them, Mr. Kaiba," Their teacher replied sweetly, smiling at him, but the boy merely frowned in reply.  
  
"Sure," he replied gruffly, quite pleased to see the children go.  
  
"Yeah, see you later, Mr. Kaiba!" One of the tougher boys yelled out the window as the bus drove off.  
  
Mokuba shuddered, clutching onto his brother's arm.  
  
"Hee, hee," he giggled. "So what did you think of my class?" he asked jokingly.  
  
Seto smiled down at Mokuba.  
  
"It wasn't the best impression," he replied, turning around to think of what to do next. "I guess we'll just call the manor and get someone to come pick us up."  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Yep..." he replied, somewhat sleepily.  
  
Priest Seto smiled, although he was still concerned about the Millennium Rod's peculiar behavior.  
  
"I wonder..." he started to say, but was cut off as the loudspeaker system started up, and the principal's voice echoed throughout the area.  
  
"URGENT REPORT!" she called through the system. "WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR TWO MISSING PERSONS: A STUDENT NAMED YUGI MOTOU AND AN IRISH DANCER NAMED KISARA. PLEASE, CONTACT THE POLICE IF YOU SEE EITHER OF THESE PERSONS."  
  
Seto's eyebrow went up.  
  
"Kisara?" he mused. "Do you suppose that's her real name?" he directed toward the priest. "And Yugi and she missing?"  
  
Mokuba looked horrified.  
  
"Missing?!" he cried, looking up at Seto. "Weird! Did someone kidnap them or are they lost?"  
  
Seto shrugged, but Priest Seto looked distracted.  
  
"Kisara...was taken to be sacrificed that night..." he murmured, his eyes wide. "The Pharaoh...was injured in a battle with Bakura and lost in the mountains for a day..."  
  
Seto tilted his head.  
  
"Are you saying..." he began, but Priest Seto continued.  
  
"...This is definite proof," Priest Seto murmured. "Destiny IS repeating itself...and all the tragedies of the past are beginning to replay today."  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 7  
  
REVIEW!  
  
"^_^ Yep! And next chapter up soon! Thanks!" ^^ 


	8. Chapter 8: The Pharaoh's Ka

Chapter Eight: The Pharaoh's Ka  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for the reviews!  
  
"And here's Chapter 8! Oh, and I'm sure, PharohYamiDuke, you'll love this chapter. ^_~ And I KNOW I spell Kuribo without an "h" but that's the Japanese spelling for it, and PharohYamiDuke would kill me if I spelt it otherwise."  
  
************  
  
Chapter Eight: The Pharaoh's Ka  
  
Down in the creek in the woods, hidden by the fallen tree and shadowed by the darkness of the night, Yami waited patiently but anxiously beside Yugi, who still hadn't woken up from his fall.  
  
Yami bit his lip, feeling nervous. What if Yugi had been seriously injured by that fall? Worse yet, how could he, Yami, help him if he HAD been? And when would they be found?  
  
Questions ran through Yami's mind like water through a screen. They never stayed in one place long enough for an answer to come to mind. All the poor spirit could think about was helping his partner.  
  
"But who can help us?!" he shouted, feeling completely devastated.  
  
Suddenly, beside him, a bright blue glow suddenly formed in the shape of a circle, and a creature began to appear. Yami's eyes widened as he stepped back and away from the strange sphere.  
  
"What is going on?" he murmured to himself, shocked.  
  
Had he done something, or was it another of Bakura's evil monsters coming to finish them off?  
  
***********  
  
At home, Tea sat down at her desk, staring out her window sadly. Cars rushed by down on the streets below, but she paid no notice. Her mind was far away from her room.  
  
"Yugi...where could you be?" she murmured sadly, brushing away a teardrop.  
  
She was nervous for her friend's sake. Yugi NEVER ran off like that unless he was chasing after something important, and most likely, an enemy. The enemy must have taken Yugi!  
  
Slowly, she let her eyelids droop down over her eyes.  
  
"Where are you...?" she murmured, a strange scene appearing before her, causing her to narrow her closed eyes.  
  
There were a man and a woman, both of whom looked familiar, and they were walking together up a mountainside...looking worried. Up ahead, in the far distance, there appeared to be another man and woman, both of whom were holding Millennium Items, and with them was...  
  
"Yugi?" Tea gasped, her eyes flying open.  
  
Breathing hard, she clutched her desk for a moment.  
  
"What was that all about?" she murmured, trying to place the faces on the people in her strange daydream. "Those people...they looked like my friends...and with them was Yugi! But...everyone looked so...different..."  
  
Putting a hand to her forehead she pushed her chair back and stood up as the door to her room slowly opened.  
  
"Tea?" Came a gentle voice; that of her mother's.  
  
Tea sighed sadly and turned to the door.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked, half-heartedly.  
  
"I know you're upset about Yugi, sweetheart, but you need to go to sleep now, alright?" Her mom asked kindly, sounding concerned.  
  
Tea bit her lip, her eyes watering.  
  
"Okay..." she muttered. "I'll get ready..."  
  
***********  
  
At Kaiba Manor, however, no one was thinking about sleep at least, that is, not Seto, Mokuba, or Priest Seto. Seto was wide awake, typing on his computer, looking for information about the mysterious disappearances of Kiki, or Kisara, and Yugi.  
  
Mokuba was lying on his stomach on the floor, flipping through the map of the festival grounds, and Priest Seto was pacing the room, murmuring to himself, trying to figure out the whole mess.  
  
"If destiny is repeating itself, Kisara will die tonight," Priest Seto announced, worriedly. "But why would another being want to kill her in this age? The modern people, from what I have seen, do not have Ka's represented by the monsters."  
  
Seto nodded, entering another search into Google.  
  
"True," he replied, scanning a list of unhelpful sites.  
  
"But whether or not Akunadin has a reincarnate, I do not know..." Priest Seto continued, looking up at Seto. "Who owns the Millennium Eye today?"  
  
Seto sighed in irritation, closing Google and spinning around in his chair to face Mokuba and the priest.  
  
"I don't know," he replied truthfully. "Pegasus owned it for a while, but I heard it was stolen, and has never been recovered."  
  
Priest Seto scowled at this information, returning to his pacing. Mokuba sighed, feeling unhelpful. But a nagging thought was eating away at his mind, continuing to pop up no matter how hard the boy tried to push it away.  
  
"If destiny is repeating itself, like you say..." he asked slowly, not certain if he wanted to know the answer. "What would that...what would that mean for the people like niisama who are reincarnates?  
  
Both Seto and Priest Seto fell silent, not wanting to answer the question. Priest Seto sighed, remembering that moment when the attack struck the White Dragon, finishing his life.  
  
  
  
Seto also was remembering the scene he had watched through the priest's memories when he had been unconscious back at Anubis's lair. All of the priests and the Pharaoh were killed in the battle with Bakura...but would that mean that all the reincarnates would...  
  
Finally, Seto spoke up.  
  
"Destiny isn't real," he scoffed softly, turning around and facing the computer screen again. "Nothing is going to happen to anyone."  
  
Mokuba sighed.  
  
Was that the truth, or was that what his brother WANTED the truth to be?  
  
Priest Seto, also, sighed. His reincarnate was wrong. Destiny was very real, and it was repeating itself. And if things were let alone, everyone would meet the same end as before.  
  
***********  
  
Yami's eyes were wide with wonder and determination as the blue glowing form began to slowly take shape.  
  
"Kuri!"  
  
Yami raised an eyebrow as the form suddenly became clear to him. The blue glow died away, revealing a small, brown and furry creature with large, round eyes and stubby green arms and legs. The creature closed its eyes in pleasure and squealed.  
  
"Kuri!!!" It cried, rubbing up against a bewildered-Yami's cheek happily, purring. "Kuri, kuri!"  
  
Yami blinked, doing nothing to stop the little creature's snuggling.  
  
"Kuribo?" he asked in shock, blinking again.  
  
Kuribo backed up a bit, nodding up and down as if saying "yes."  
  
"Kuri, kuri!" It replied, squeaking happily.  
  
Yami's jaw dropped.  
  
"Are you a servant of Bakura's?" he asked sternly, narrowing his eyes at the creature.  
  
Kuribo's eyes watered as it cringed in shame.  
  
"Kuri, kuri, kuri!" It cried, shaking its head no as tears spilled down its cheeks.  
  
Yami instantly regretted saying that as the creature began to cry softly, sinking down to the ground. Yami knelt down beside it, looking much kinder.  
  
"I...I'm terribly sorry I offended you..." he murmured, poking the creature's back gently. "I was attacked earlier and had no idea..."  
  
Kuribo instantly forgave him, as it bounced up and snuggled itself in Yami's arms.  
  
"Um..." Yami muttered, wondering if the Kuribo had been sent to help him. "Are you a monster from the dark world?"  
  
Kuribo shook its head no.  
  
"Kuri!" It replied forcefully, jabbing at where Yami's heart was located with its stubby arm.  
  
Yami blinked, trying to piece it all together.  
  
"You came...from my heart?" he asked slowly, looking at the creature seriously.   
  
Kuribo looked undecided.  
  
"Kuri," It replied slowly, nodding its head slightly.  
  
Yami bit his lip. If not from the heart, then...  
  
"Are you...are you part of my soul?" he asked slowly, almost in disbelief.  
  
Could this be HIS monster, like the White Dragon was the priest's? Kuribo's eyes lit up happily and he nodded quickly.  
  
"Kuri!" It replied jollily, bouncing around its master. "Kuri, Kuri!"  
  
Yami's jaw remained dropped, and his eyes were still wide. So it WAS his monster...the monster that was part of his spirit.  
  
"Kuri?" Kuribo asked, tilting his head at Yugi, who was still sprawled on the floor, eyes closed.  
  
Yami instantly became worried again, looking down at his friend.  
  
"That is Yugi, my partner," he informed the Kuribo solemnly. "He was injured during a battle with Bakura's monster, and hasn't woken since."  
  
Kuribo's eyes became sad again.   
  
"Kuri..." Kuribo murmured sadly.  
  
Yami knelt down next to Yugi, who stirred slightly.  
  
"Yugi?" he asked softly, watching as his friend's eyes snapped open.  
  
"Yami...?"  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Kiki kicked out weakly, trying to break lose from the ropes that bound her to the chair.  
  
"Urk," she murmured, biting down on her lip. "If they were just a little...looser..."  
  
She gasped as someone snickered in the shadows and walked forward.  
  
"They won't get looser, foolish girl," Yami Bakura corrected her, grinning as he crossed his arms. "For they are not ordinary mortal ties, but magically enhanced ones."  
  
Kiki kicked out again, despite what Yami Bakura had just said.  
  
"I don't believe it," she scoffed. "This is all some big hoax. Why in the world do you want me!?"  
  
  
  
Yami Bakura scowled.  
  
"I told you, foolish woman," he replied, irritated. "To sacrifice you to gain the powers of the White Dragon the spirit of the ancient high priest holds. You are the fitting sacrifice, after all," he added, gesturing at her choker with the dragon in the center.  
  
Kiki scowled nervously.  
  
If what he said was true...was he really going to kill her?!  
  
***********  
  
Yugi slowly opened his eyes and blinked up at his partner.  
  
"Y...Yami?" he asked slowly as Yami smiled down at him.  
  
"KURI!"  
  
Yugi sprang up as Kuribo bounced in front of his face, chirping and twittering cheerfully. Yugi gasped, looking shocked as the little creature swirled around.  
  
"Ya...Yami?" he asked nervously, pointing a shaking finger at the Kuribo. "What is THAT?"  
  
Yami grinned rather sheepishly.  
  
"Yugi, do you remember when I was wondering why Priest Seto could summon a monster and I couldn't?" he asked, chuckling slightly.  
  
Yugi raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Yeah..." he said slowly, eyeing the fluff-ball suspiciously.  
  
"Well, I found out which monster I could summon," Yami finished, Kuribo nuzzling him again.  
  
Yugi blinked, astonished.  
  
"Kuribo?" he asked, leaning forward.  
  
"Kuri!" Kuribo declared with a nod, Yami laughing.  
  
"Yes, Kuribo," Yami agreed.  
  
**********  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes, feeling frustrated. Seto had gone upstairs to tuck Mokuba in, but he was still pacing the room downstairs, pondering on what they should do next.  
  
  
  
"I wish there was someone I could get information from and confide in," he muttered, excluding Seto from "confiding" as he was convinced destiny didn't even exist.  
  
At least, that is, so he says, Priest Seto added to himself, knowing that secretly his reincarnate believed it too.  
  
He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling slightly out of place. The destiny he'd lived through and died in was repeating itself as he stood there wasting time thinking, but what was he to do about it?  
  
Suddenly, however, a voice rang through his mind.  
  
"Priest!"  
  
Priest Seto, for the first time, brightened at the sound of Bastet's voice. Normally he was irritated by the cat goddess's cold attitude and sharp instructions, but today, he felt that maybe she could help him in this situation.  
  
"Yes, Bastet?" he asked in a rush.  
  
"What by all the sands of Egypt is going on down there?!" she demanded. "In Domino! I've been sensing wild things from your direction."  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"It seems destiny is repeating itself, Bastet," he informed the goddess calmly.  
  
Bastet narrowed her eyes from where she had been pacing the halls of the temple, Thoth perched in the corner writing on a scroll, and Horus flapping around up near the ceiling.  
  
"What?" she replied icily.  
  
Priest Seto sighed, tired of explaining.  
  
"The past, the destinies of the Millennium Item owners, are all replaying themselves in the same way that the ancient owners' had," he explained nervously, loosing his calmness. "And if nothing is done, they will meet the same end as the original owners did."  
  
Bastet raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Really?" she asked mysteriously, as Priest Seto suddenly was engulfed in a mist of blue light and found himself in the middle of the temple where Bastet was.  
  
He blinked.  
  
"How did you...?" he began but Bastet merely smirked.  
  
"I have my ways," she replied, looking away. "But tell me, what exactly does the repetition of destiny mean?"  
  
Priest Seto sighed, looking at the ground. Philosophy and the future had not been his strong points, nor the points of his greatest faith. He realized inwardly that in his time, he was much more like Seto was now.  
  
"I don't know..." he murmured, looking away. "I know who would though..."  
  
Bastet tilted her head.  
  
"Who? And talk to them for goodness sakes then!" she demanded, eying the priest testily. "I know how you died, and I know how the others died. And if that happens again, then I fail at my mission."  
  
Priest Seto glared at Bastet angrily.  
  
"She's been dead for nearly 3000 years," he snapped in reply. "I can't talk to her."  
  
Bastet smirked.  
  
"The priestess?" she inquired softly, Priest Seto staring down at her. "Alright then...I can manage a ten minute conversation, if you can get the information you need in that timeframe."  
  
Priest Seto's eyes widened.  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter 8  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
Next chapter up soon! ^_^ Thanks! 


	9. Chapter 9: From Ages Long Past

Chapter Nine: From Ages Long Past  
  
Notes: ^_^ Chapter nine is here! And for anyone who didn't read Ancient Lies, there was NOT a romantic relationship between Priest Seto and Priestess Isis, but it was hinted at that Isis liked him. (He never showed that he liked her back though. XD)  
  
Confused? X_X Well, sometimes I confuse myself with my plotlines. I read over this chapter to make sure nothing is...hanging loose, I guess. :P  
  
"Anyway, here we go!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Nine: From Ages Long Past  
  
Priest Seto was dumbfounded. A moment ago, he'd been in the living room of the Kaiba Manor, and a second later he'd been whisked over to the gods' temple, and was now being informed that he could speak with his dead friend.  
  
Bastet closed her eyes, her silver collar lighting up and the blue gem in the center twinkling. Priest Seto watched, somewhat reluctant to speak to Isis. It had been so long...and the last events that had happened...it was almost too strange.  
  
Suddenly, before Priest Seto had any time to dwell more on the situation, a blue glow appeared in front of him and suddenly, a figure began to form out of the glow. Bastet smiled and slinked over to a corner.  
  
"Ten mortal minutes, starting now," she called over to the priest, who wasn't paying much attention.  
  
The figure in front of him slowly formed itself into the ancient priestess, and holder of the Millennium Necklace. She looked unchanged since that day when she had died, although the Millennium Item was no longer around her neck. As Priest Seto watched, she looked up and smiled softly at him.  
  
"It has been a while, hasn't it, Seto?" she asked in her mysterious way, smiling.  
  
Priest Seto, however, didn't smile back.  
  
"Isis..." he muttered, looking at her. "I need to talk to you..."  
  
Her smile turned mysterious at these words.  
  
"...about destiny," Priestess Isis finished, looking up at him for approval. "That is correct?"  
  
Something in the way she had finished his sentence reminded him of how it used to be before the attack from Bakura on the kingdom. But he was too concerned with what he needed to figure out to pay much attention to it.  
  
"Yes," he replied. "It seems that the past is repeating itself in the modern era. What happened to we priests and the Pharaoh is happening to our reincarnates."  
  
Priestess Isis nodded.  
  
"I know," she replied.  
  
  
  
Priest Seto bit his lip, unsure of what to ask.  
  
"Well, what can I do about it?" he asked, almost impatiently. "I can't let my reincarnate suffer that same fate. But what I want to really know is whether or not destiny REALLY repeats itself of not."  
  
He looked up at her for an answer, but Priestess Isis didn't reply at first, but just continued to smile. Then she sighed and looked up at her old friend seriously.  
  
"Seto," she replied in her soft voice. "Destiny does indeed repeat itself. It attempts to at least. Should you stand by and watch, then yes, the reincarnates would all perish just as we did in the last battle."  
  
Priest Seto's eyes widened.  
  
"But..." he began, but she cut him off.  
  
"However," she continued. "Should those who know step in, the course of destiny can be altered."  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Those who know?" he mused. "What does that mean?"  
  
***********  
  
Yugi smiled at his friend and the little Kuribo that was bouncing around, happily.  
  
  
  
"I'm glad for you, Yami," he said, struggling to his feet, rubbing his head.  
  
Yami's expression instantly turned serious once again as he watched his partner stand.  
  
"Aibou, are you all right?" he asked, concerned. "I can always take over you if it is too much for you..."  
  
Yugi smiled weakly.  
  
"I'm fine, Yami," he replied. "I can handle it. Thanks for caring, though," he added a moment later.  
  
Yami smiled back at his friend, before returning to thinking, a lost in though look on his face.   
  
"There is a problem still, though," he murmured. "Bakura has done something horrible, I can sense it."  
  
Yugi nodded, his eyebrows narrowed in concern.  
  
"I know," he replied, worriedly.  
  
Yami bit his lip and closed his eyes, thinking to himself.  
  
"And I feel an overwhelming force of fate driving these past actions," Yami continued, still as if he were merely talking to himself out-loud.  
  
Yugi sighed.  
  
"Do you think it has something to do with the past?" he asked, looking up at his partner edgily, hoping he hadn't touched a sore spot of Yami's.  
  
Yami, however, merely sighed, depressed.  
  
"I have a strange feeling, Yugi, that it does," he replied, looking up at the sky as he did so. "But I have no recollection of my past, and therefore, have no idea of whether or not this is, as Ishizu says, destiny."  
  
Yugi looked up at his friend sadly.  
  
"Yami..." he murmured, biting his lip.  
  
***********  
  
Isis looked Priest Seto straight in the eye.  
  
"Those who know, Seto," she replied seriously. "You have witnessed the past, and therefore know. The course of destiny can only be altered by those who know its course, like you and the Pharaoh."  
  
Priest Seto sighed bitterly.  
  
"The Pharaoh has no memory of the past and sees me as a traitor," he informed Isis. "He wouldn't believe me."  
  
Priestess Isis sighed.  
  
"I know the Pharaoh has lost his memory due to your own Millennium Item that Bakura used near the end of the battle," she murmured.  
  
Priest Seto's eyes suddenly grew wide, a new fear entering his mind, something that had never occurred to him before.  
  
~Due to your own Millennium Item...~  
  
~Your own~  
  
"I thought it was a last-ditch attempt to destroy Bakura, but in throwing the rod at him, I LET him gain control of it, and with that, he wiped out the Pharaoh's name and memory," he thought in shock to himself. "Is it...MY fault then, that the Pharaoh is how he is today?"  
  
"No," Priestess Isis suddenly interrupted, as if reading his thoughts. "I know what you are thinking, Seto. You thought you were doing the best thing to protect the Pharaoh and the kingdom. You didn't know he would use the powers against us."  
  
Priest Seto stared at her, still in doubt, and also confused. Aside from the new guilt overwhelming him there was also a question nagging at him that he felt compelled to ask, as this might be his only chance for a long, long time...but it seemed irrelevant to the situation, and...somewhat awkward...  
  
"Isis...during the battle, why did you do it?" Priest Seto asked, looking at her closely, his eyes narrowed.  
  
Priestess Isis blinked.  
  
"Block the attack with my Ka?" she responded, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Priest Seto nodded.  
  
"You died to save MY life...but why?" he asked.  
  
Priestess Isis smiled a half-smile.  
  
"I thought I was doing the best thing for the kingdom," she replied simply. "You and the White Dragon...I thought you were the only hope left. I had served my role in the battle."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, somewhat accepting the answer, though feeling it wasn't quite the whole reason. After all, he realized, her sacrifice hadn't done much good. The White Dragon didn't win the battle anyway. It had been the Pharaoh and his...  
  
"But your sacrifice was in vain then," he replied, feeling sad. "I..."  
  
He was cut off though as Priestess Isis was suddenly caught up in a vague blue glow. The ten minutes, he realized, were almost up.  
  
"Seto," Isis said seriously, looking him straight in the eye. "Destiny is set on its course, and you must throw it off. On that road lie more than one life in danger, and the entire future of the Millennium Items. And Seto..." she added as the light continued to absorb her. "Don't give up on the Pharaoh..."  
  
With that, the blue light engulfed her completely and Priestess Isis vanished from the room. Bastet slinked back over to where Priest Seto was hovering a few feet off the ground, looking lost in thought.  
  
"Did you figure it out?" she hissed, flicking her tail back and forth.  
  
Slowly, Priest Seto nodded.  
  
"I did..." he said softly. "I did."  
  
Bastet smirked.  
  
"Okay then," she replied. "Off you go."  
  
And with a flash of blue light, Priest Seto found himself back in the living room of Kaiba Manor.  
  
*********  
  
Kiki's eyelids were heavy, and drooping as she continued to struggle against the magical binds that held her. Biting her lip, tears stung at her eyes as she realized she wouldn't be able to get free, let alone escape, from the Egyptian maniac.  
  
"I don't believe it," she murmured sadly, trying to stop the tears from falling, to no avail. "I've been here for hours and no one is coming to find me...or rescue me."  
  
At the word rescue, she thought vaguely of the brown-haired boy from her school who, in his own strange way, had helped her out back when the bullies had been picking on her.  
  
"Maybe he..." she muttered, before choking back a sob. "No, that's absurd. I'm stuck...and about to be sacrificed for some dragon!"  
  
She'd always worn the dragon-choker around her neck because of her birth-year in the Chinese zodiac: 1988, the year of the dragon. She'd loved to read about them and they were her favorite mystical creatures.  
  
"Who would have thought I'd die because of a dragon?" she thought with a crooked smile, tears spilling down her cheeks.  
  
***********  
  
Early the next morning, Seto awoke to the phone ringing on his bedside table next to his alarm clock. Sleepily, he picked it up and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.  
  
"Kaiba..." he answered, trying to sound professional.  
  
"Kaiba!" Came Yugi's frantic, yet bright, still, voice through the phone.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Yugi?" he asked, sounding surprised.  
  
  
  
Hadn't it only been the night before that Yugi had been declared a missing person?  
  
"I'm okay, don't worry. I just got...lost in the woods and lost track of time," Yugi replied quickly, knowing what Seto was thinking and not wanting to waste a lot of time talking about it. "But Tea told me that some Irish dancer by the name of Kisara was missing yesterday afternoon too!"  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"Yes..." he muttered, standing up and carrying the portable phone over to his dresser as he pulled out his clothes for the day. "I met her the other day, though she introduced herself as Kiki. And...the Millennium Rod kept lighting up as if detecting danger yesterday."  
  
There was a gasp from the other end.  
  
"It's Bakura!" Yugi cried, sounding panicky now.  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Bakura?" he asked, Priest Seto floating into the room.  
  
Yugi nodded, although Seto couldn't see him.  
  
"Yeah, Bakura! We sensed the Millennium Ring the other day, and then a huge monster chased us. I bet HE took Kisara!" he cried.  
  
Seto pondered on this, but it all made sense. The evil spirit possessing Bakura was the Bakura of the past.  
  
"Kaiba, can you meet me at school?" Yugi asked suddenly. "I know it's a day off, but this is important, and I think we all need to be there."  
  
Seto sighed, knowing he had work to do at Kaiba Corporation, but feeling he may as well go and see what Yugi had to say.  
  
"All right, I can be there in an hour," he replied, checking his watch.  
  
"Thanks!" Yugi cried, still sounding paranoid as he hung up the phone.  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow at Seto, who pulled off his pajamas and began to get dressed in his regular black outfit.  
  
"Who was that speaking through the telephone?" he asked, still not quite certain how the device worked.  
  
"It was Yugi..." Seto murmured, pulling on his purple coat. "It seems he was lost in the woods but made it home. He wants to meet at school to discuss something..."  
  
"Good," Priest Seto replied. "I need to speak with the Pharaoh."  
  
Seto shrugged, picking up his briefcase where the Millennium Rod was still rattling around.  
  
"All right," he replied. "I still find this entire matter strange..."  
  
Priest Seto looked his reincarnate in the eye, seriously.  
  
"What you told Mokuba last night was a lie," he accused Seto. "Destiny IS repeating itself. Last night I spoke with a priestess from my era, and she told me that destiny can be altered by those who know."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"You saw how the past ended," Priest Seto persisted, growing impatient. "We have to stop that fate from happening again."  
  
Seto sighed, moving past the priest.  
  
"I'm not going to get myself killed," Seto reminded the priest, turning off the lights in his room. "So don't worry."  
  
Priest Seto sighed. Now the Pharaoh was the only one left who might be able to help...  
  
However, unnoticed by Seto, or even Priest Seto, Mokuba was crouched down beside the door, listening as the two talked. His eyes widened as Seto mentioned dying.  
  
"In the past..." he muttered, backing away from the door so Seto wouldn't notice him eavesdropping. "In the past...did everyone die in the battle with Bakura? Is he the guy with the black hood in my dream...?"  
  
Seto opened the door and walked out, Priest Seto behind him. As if on cue, Mokuba walked by looking happy, trying to look as though he hadn't heard a thing that the two had been saying.  
  
"Hello, Mokuba," Seto said with a smile, looking down at his brother, who looked worried despite his attempts.  
  
"Niisama, where are you going?" he asked, following his brother downstairs and to the door.  
  
"To school very quickly to talk to Yugi," Seto replied, opening the door.  
  
"Can I go with you?" Mokuba asked, biting his lip.  
  
Seto sighed.  
  
"No Mokuba, I'm sorry," he replied. "I'll only be a little while. You stay here and keep out of trouble, all right? And I'll see you later."  
  
Mokuba nodded, still looking worried.  
  
"Okay, niisama," he replied, watching as Seto walked out the door. "Be careful!" he called after him, wishing with all his heart that his brother wouldn't go...or would at least let him go along too.  
  
Priest Seto, too, felt worried as he floating through the door, waving back at a distracted Mokuba.  
  
~ "Can we do something else today?" Mokuba had laughed, smiling up at the high priest.  
  
"Not right now, Mokuba," he had replied, smiling. "You stay around the village and keep out of trouble, all right? I will see you later tomorrow."  
  
"Okay!"~  
  
The only problem was...later had never come for the high priest.  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter 9  
  
^_^ Kind of eerie little end there, wasn't it?  
  
"REVIEW! And we'll get our next chapter up soon!" ^_~ 


	10. Chapter 10: So the Tragedies Continue

Chapter Ten: So the Tragedies Continue  
  
Notes: ^_^ Chapter 10! And yeah, the conversation between Priest Seto and Priestess Isis was a little sad. And something big is going to happen soon. ^_~  
  
"Here we go. XD Thanks for the reviews!"  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Ten: So the Tragedies Continue  
  
Tea woke with a start the next morning, the sunlight shining brightly in through the window at her. Her alarm clock hadn't gone off, as today was a day off from school, but she hadn't planned on sleeping in. Especially after the phone call she'd received late the night before...  
  
~ "Yugi!" Tea cried, recognizing her friend's voice. "Oh Yugi, where WERE you?! I was so worried!"  
  
Yugi blushed, feeling bad about making his friends nervous for his sake.  
  
"I was in the woods with Yami..." he muttered in reply, feeling guilty. "I...got knocked out and didn't hear you guys when you were calling. Joey said you looked around for hours."  
  
Tea nodded, a tear drop threatening to fall down her cheek.  
  
"Yeah...we looked for a long time..." she murmured, feeling stupid for crying, but not being able to help it all the same.  
  
Yugi bit his lip.  
  
"Well, it's late so I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow," he finished, hoping he hadn't woken Tea up. "I just wanted to let you know I was okay."  
  
"Thanks," Tea replied quietly. "Good bye." ~  
  
Yugi was safe! He hadn't been kidnapped! But worried thoughts were still lingering in Tea's mind. Yugi had been lost in the woods, which meant that it was highly unlikely that Kiki, who had just gone off to retrieve her scarf, had gotten lost in the woods too.  
  
No, there was definitely some foul play involved...  
  
"I guess I'll go over to the Game Shop and talk to Yugi," Tea decided, pulling on her tennis shoes and her green shirt. "It's a relief to know he's okay."  
  
***********  
  
Duke woke up late, feeling sleepy. He'd been woken up close to midnight by the phone call from Yugi, and although it was great Yugi was home safely, he knew he was going to be groggy all morning from the lack of sleep.  
  
Yawning, he pulled on his black and red outfit and walked down the stairs where Amber was sitting at the dining room table, eating a piece of toast and reading the newspaper, looking rather perky.  
  
"Morning, Duke!" she said cheerily as Duke poured himself a cup of tea and took a seat at the other end of the table, where one of Duke's employees from the Black Crown, John, was sitting, reading the other half of the newspaper.  
  
"Mornin..." Duke muttered, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "How can you be so peppy?"  
  
Amber smirked and shrugged.  
  
"I don't know," she replied airily. "Maybe it's just a quality."  
  
Duke nodded groggily.  
  
"Maybe..." he murmured, looking at the paper she was reading. "What's up in today's news?"  
  
Amber sighed and turned the front page around so he could see it.  
  
"Well, Yugi made the front cover," she commented, pointing to a school picture of the boy. "MISSING BOY COMES HOME."  
  
Duke chuckled, scanning the rest of the article. Beside the picture of Yugi was a picture of a white-haired girl, who looked about their age.  
  
"Is that the other missing person?" he inquired, pointing at the picture.  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
"I guess so," she replied, taking the paper back and scanning the article below the picture. "It says that she's still missing. She's a sixteen-year old dancer from Ireland who came to Domino for the festival and then was going to travel with her troupe to other Asian countries for performances. How sad..."  
  
  
  
Duke nodded solemnly.  
  
"Yeah," he murmured, stretching a little as he yawned again.  
  
Amber narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.  
  
"Looks like you could use a walk," she commented, standing up and pulling the boy to his feet as he choked on tea. "Come on!"  
  
Duke looked taken aback.  
  
"But...but..." he muttered, but Amber had already pulled him over to the door.  
  
"Come on! It'll wake you up for sure," Amber promised with a wink, walking out the door, a reluctant Duke behind her.  
  
***********  
  
Yugi silently walked down the street towards his school, feeling somewhat uneasy. Seto had mentioned that he had met the Irish girl, and had also sensed a Millennium Item and danger the other day. Maybe, Yugi thought, he had some idea of where the girl might be...and more importantly, what Yami Bakura wanted with her.  
  
Yami was floating beside Yugi in spirit form, quiet as well. Neither were in much of a cheerful mood, not that Kuribo hadn't tried to change that. The little fluff-ball had whizzed around Yugi's bedroom that morning, bouncing off the walls, almost as if it were performing for Yami.  
  
However, the little monster's antics were not quite the solution to the problems. Now the creature had gone back to Yami's mind, whether it had gone away giving up on cheering up its master, or to plot new ways of making him happy, neither Yami nor Yugi knew.  
  
"We're almost there, Yami," Yugi announced, the Millennium Puzzle bouncing off his chest as he walked, the sunlight catching the gold of the puzzle and causing it to glare.  
  
"Ah," Yami replied, almost with a sigh of determination.  
  
Yami had suggested Yugi bring along the Millennium Necklace, just in case they might need it. It had, after all, helped them out once before, by letting them see a key scene in the future. So the golden necklace was tucked away in Yugi's pocket, bobbing along as he walked.  
  
Who know? Yugi thought to himself as he walked briskly down the sidewalks. It might come in handy again...  
  
**********  
  
Kiki's eyes fluttered open and she was almost startled to find herself fin the middle of a strange and damp room, probably in an old gym or recreational center, she thought. Then, she remembered the past day's events and she caught sight of Yami Bakura standing over in the center of the room, the Millennium Ring around his neck glowing brightly.  
  
"Ah...so the White Dragon is approaching," he murmured to himself, Kiki gasping in fear.  
  
White Dragon?! That was what that creep said I was going to be sacrificed for! She thought to herself, feeling panicky again.  
  
"And the Millennium Rod, Necklace, and Puzzle as well..." he murmured. "How fascinating..."  
  
Kiki swallowed, getting up the courage to confront the boy again.  
  
"Hey!" she called over, trying to sound braver than she felt. "What do you keep talking about these Millennium Items for? And what have they got to do with anything?"  
  
Yami Bakura scowled up at the girl, irritated.  
  
  
  
"Can't you keep quiet, mortal?" he snapped, never having had a hostage that was so darn annoying!  
  
Kiki huffed.  
  
"No," she snapped icily in reply. "I can't. Why are they so important?"  
  
Scowling, Yami Bakura decided to answer.  
  
"Millennium Items are powerful creations of the past," he informed the girl. "Though power does come with a price, and so the people of the village paid the price for the creation of those items. But now that matters not, for I will obtain all the items and use their power, along with the immense powers of the White Dragon to rule the world."  
  
Kiki gulped.  
  
"Is that thing around you neck a...Millennium Item?" she asked, hoping to stall him from his plotting, though it wouldn't help much anyway, she thought, if the White Dragon were approaching THEM.  
  
Yami Bakura smirked.  
  
"Yes, it is," he replied, looking down at the Millennium Ring that continued to glow brightly around his neck as three of the quivering pointers pointed toward the direction of the school. "The Millennium Ring can detect and locate other Millennium Items...among other magical things."  
  
Kiki frowned.  
  
"You aren't going to get away with this, you know," she retorted.  
  
Yami Bakura smiled, walking over to her.  
  
  
  
"But I am," he replied with an evil grin. "Because I've already failed once, and I WON'T fail again..."  
  
Kiki shivered as her captor laughed maniacally.  
  
***********  
  
Mokuba paced the dining room, contemplating what to do. He'd eaten a quick bowl of cereal and tried to play on his Game Boy, but the dream kept coming back to mind, and he couldn't concentrate on anything.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Mokuba finally burst out, putting on his sweater hurriedly. "If Seto's heading for trouble, I CAN'T just let him walk right into it! I've got to catch up with him."  
  
With that, he opened the front door and took off down the driveway toward the streets, hoping he wasn't going to be too late.  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Seto was coming up upon the schoolyard, where he saw Yugi waiting almost nervously beside the monkey bars. At the sight of the CEO, Yugi's eyes lit up and he smiled, running over to Seto.  
  
"Hi, Kaiba!" he called, breathlessly.  
  
Seto nodded in reply, Priest Seto looking over at Yami, who was still hovering around near the monkey bars.  
  
"I must speak with the Pharaoh," he told Seto and Yugi shortly before floating over to talk to Yami.  
  
Yugi gulped, watching the priest for a moment before turning back to Seto.  
  
"Kaiba, I wanted to know if you had any idea where the Millennium Rod was acting funny, and maybe that can help track down Bakura and this Kisara girl," Yugi explained, looking up at Seto hopefully.  
  
Seto glanced over at Priest Seto and Yami, who were walking in the opposite direction. It doesn't really matter anyway, Seto thought to himself, that the priest isn't here. I know where the Millennium Rod was acting up anyway.  
  
"All right," he replied shortly to Yugi who smiled.  
  
"Thanks Kaiba," Yugi replied, glancing down at the Millennium Puzzle. "With two Millennium Items at work, we should be able to track down Bakura in no time."  
  
  
  
Seto huffed. Spending the day chasing 3000 year old spirits and missing dancers was NOT how he had intended to spend his day off, but, he supposed, he didn't really have a choice. After all, Yugi HAD given him the rod in the first place, so he probably owed him a favor.  
  
Not, of course, Seto reminded himself as he and Yugi started off toward the vacant booths that were lining the sidewalks, still waiting to be taken down, that I wanted the thing in the first place.  
  
***********  
  
Yami eyed Priest Seto suspiciously as the two walked down an empty sidewalk.  
  
"What do you want, priest?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"Pharaoh," he began. "I spoke with Priestess Isis, one of your priests back in the ancient times, and she said that destiny was indeed repeating itself."  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Did she?" he asked, although Priest Seto couldn't tell whether he was actually asking, or just repeating.  
  
"But there is a way to prevent the tragedies of the past from reoccurring," Priest Seto continued, looking Yami in the eye. "Pharaoh, you and I, in the past, did not have a spirit to watch over us and help out. You and I NOW are the difference that this generation of reincarnates needs to prevent the destiny from happening again."  
  
  
  
Yami paused, silent.  
  
It made sense, he thought to himself, eyeing the priest suspiciously. But can he be trusted...?  
  
"What makes you think I can trust you?" Yami asked, somewhat cautiously.  
  
Priest Seto sighed, staring straight into Yami's eyes, wishing they still held the same gentleness and knowingness of the Pharaoh he had known back in Egypt.  
  
"Bastet won't like that I'm going to tell you this, but Pharaoh, I was not your enemy in the past," he said truthfully, hoping Yami would believe him. "I made mistakes, yes, but you must believe me."  
  
Yami's purple eyes stared into the priests blue ones. From what he could see, the priest spoke honestly.  
  
"I don't trust you completely," Yami said, looking seriously back at him. "But I believe you in this matter. What do you propose we do about this then if our reincarnates are in danger?"  
  
Priest Seto would have smiled, but decided he may as well just keep a calm face. Now destiny had two people fighting against it.  
  
***********  
  
Seto and Yugi, meanwhile, were walking through the woods, Yugi trying to figure out which way they ought to go to follow Bakura.  
  
"I think it might be this way..." he murmured, looking to the right. "It's not that path there, cause I took that way last night and a tree fell down over there."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment.  
  
"All right," he replied simply, looking in the right direction. "We could try that way I guess."  
  
Yugi nodded, walking forward down the path, the Millennium Puzzle lighting up slightly.  
  
"This is definitely the right direction," he mused, looking around and sensing some sort of powerful force. "I can sense something this way..."  
  
Seto didn't reply, but merely continued walking after Yugi. Although he himself didn't have much magical qualities in him, he too could sense something ahead: danger.  
  
**********  
  
Yami Bakura smirked, sitting down in a chair in the center of the large and old gymnasium.  
  
"This is almost too simple," he murmured to himself, smiling evilly. "It's only a matter of time before those mortal fools come to me...with everything I want along with them."  
  
His smile curled into a sneer almost as he mused on one last factor.  
  
"And even if I need to resort to fighting, those ignorant fools are forgetting one thing about me," he chuckled, a strange roaring sound filling the gym. "I, too, have a Ka."  
  
Kiki gasped as a giant and horrible-looking monster suddenly appeared in the room, letting loose a horrible and heart-shaking shriek, mingled with the maniac laughter of the evil spirit.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter Ten  
  
^_^ Yes, something big is coming up, and it's standing right behind Yami Bakura! O_O!!  
  
"^^;; Review! Review! And find out in Chapter 11 what happens next!" 


	11. Chapter 11: Confrontation

Chapter Eleven: Confrontation  
  
Notes: ^_^ Chapter 11 is here! And to answer some questions: Yes, Kuribo is Yami's official Ka in the manga. ^_~ Cute little thing. It's not the Dark Magician most likely cause that monster has a lot to do with the Priest Mahado. And will Kiki die? O_o` Um...you'll just have to wait and see, Wingweaver Hope. ^^;;  
  
"Thanks for reviewing and here...we...go!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Eleven: Confrontation  
  
Tea hurried down the street, biting her lip. Even though she'd only just spoken to Yugi over the phone a few hours before, she wanted to see him, and make certain he was all right.  
  
Hurriedly, she crossed the street and ran up the door to the Game Shop and lightly tapped, hoping that her perky friend would answer the door. However, a few moments passed before the door opened, and it wasn't by Yugi.  
  
"Ah! Tea!" Grandpa chuckled, recognizing Yugi's friend instantly. "How are you today?"  
  
Tea forced a smile.  
  
"I'm fine, but I kinda wanted to talk to Yugi, if that's all right," she said quickly, peering into the card shop behind the old man.  
  
Grandpa chuckled again.  
  
"It's fine, all right, but I'm afraid Yugi isn't here right now," he replied, looking out across the street. "He went over to his school to check something out quickly. He seemed rather preoccupied. I didn't mind, to be honest. As long as he's not going to get lost again."  
  
Tea sighed, feeling uneasy. Yugi was definitely going to get himself into trouble, and most likely back in those woods!  
  
"Well, thanks, Grandpa," Tea called, stepping off the stairs and starting off down the sidewalk. "I'll look for him there!"  
  
Grandpa waved.  
  
"All right, Tea!" he called, before going back into the Game Shop and closing the door behind him.  
  
"Oh Yugi, you'd better be okay," Tea thought desperately to herself, running full-speed down the city sidewalks.  
  
***********  
  
"Look!" Yugi cried, running up to an old and mud splattered recreational center, pointing up at it. "It's an old gym!"  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes and followed the boy up to the building, staring at it.  
  
"Are you assuming that Bakura is hiding out in here?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Yugi gritted his teeth, determined.  
  
"Yep, and bet that Kisara girl is with him!" he declared, looking around for the door. "We just gotta find the way in, now..."  
  
Seto leaned around the left side of the building, searching for an old entrance to the place, when he heard Yugi gasp as the crunching of leaves on the ground announced the approach of another person.  
  
  
  
"Ishizu!" Yugi cried, causing Seto's eyebrows to go up as he turned around to see the black-haired Egyptian woman walking toward them, looking troubled.  
  
"You are searching for Bakura?" she inquired, in a knowing way.  
  
Yugi nodded quickly while Seto merely watched the two.  
  
"Yeah, we think he's kidnapped this girl," he cried, looking up at Ishizu hopefully. "Are you tracking him too?"  
  
Ishizu looked down.  
  
"I have been feeling a strong force of fate hovering over the past few days' events," she murmured, closing her eyes mystically. "I sensed a large collection of Millennium Items gathered here, so I came."  
  
Yugi looked puzzle for a moment as he counted up the items.  
  
"Well...I have my puzzle, and Kaiba has the rod...and I brought along the necklace just in case," he muttered, counting off three fingers. "And Bakura's got the ring!"  
  
Ishizu didn't reply, but only watched the boy number the items.  
  
  
  
"Do you know the way in?" Seto asked in his cold voice, breaking the moment of silence between the three of them.  
  
Ishizu nodded slowly.  
  
"I do," she replied, walking around the right side of the building. "It is this way."  
  
Yugi put on a quick smile before running after the woman, Seto following behind him.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, in an Egyptian village and walking through the crowded streets, Malik Ishtar was trying to find out more information on the recent happenings in Egypt. Beside him was his close friend Lishdo, and the two had been out since nearly daybreak.  
  
"Malik," Lishdo asked, narrowing his eyes in frustration. "What was it that Lady Ishizu last said about the new evil?"  
  
Malik sighed, biting his lip.  
  
"Neesan said that she felt a strong force of fate and destiny influencing recent events when I talked to her last night," he murmured, almost to himself. "It's been a long time since neesan talked like that, and..."  
  
Lishdo looked down at his friend.  
  
"You are worried?" he finished, Malik nodding in agreement.  
  
"Yes, exactly," he agreed, looking distracted. "With so many of the Millennium Items in Domino, there's a strong chance that an evil might strike there, and I'm afraid for neesan's sake."  
  
Lishdo nodded.  
  
"Do not worry so much, though, Malik," he said kindly, hoping to comfort his friend. "Lady Ishizu is a strong person. She will be fine. Especially with the Pharaoh and the others so close by."  
  
"Yes," Malik murmured, thinking back to a time when his sister had been attacked by Anubis. Having Yugi and the others nearby hadn't stopped that from happening! "I suppose..."  
  
Despite his friend's reassuring words, Malik couldn't relax. And he couldn't help feeling that something bad was going to happen.  
  
***********  
  
Mokuba ran down the streets, worriedly. He'd already taken one wrong street in his rush, and now was hopefully on the right street; the one that would take him to Domino High School.  
  
"Please don't do something silly, niisama," he thought to himself, biting his lip as he turned a corner sharp, and ran smack into another person who was coming round the other way.  
  
"Ow!" Mokuba cried, as he fell to the hard cement. "I'm sorry..." he murmured to the person he'd ran into, rubbing his elbow tenderly.  
  
Tea looked up from where she'd fallen on the ground to see Mokuba lying on the cement across from her. Her eyebrows went up as she recognized him.  
  
"Mokuba!" she cried, standing up and helping the boy to his feet. "Are you alright?"  
  
Mokuba nodded, somewhat relieved he hadn't rammed into a complete stranger, though too distracted to care much. But maybe Tea could help him find his brother, since she was one of Yugi's friends...  
  
"I'm okay, but I need to find my niisama!" he cried, looking up at her with his shining gray eyes. "I think he's in danger!"  
  
Tea's eyes widened.  
  
"Danger? Why do you think that?" she asked, feeling butterflies flutter around in her stomach.  
  
Mokuba swallowed.  
  
"Well, he and the spirit of that high priest went off to meet Yugi at school to talk about something, and I'm afraid that something bad's gonna happen...because of a dream I had..."  
  
The boy trailed off, realizing how silly it was to base his concern off of a dream, but still, he just HAD to find Seto before something bad happened. Tea, however, nodded, looking just as upset as Mokuba did.  
  
"I'm trying to find Yugi," she admitted, looking off to the left, where the school was located a few blocks down. "I'm afraid he's going to get in trouble too."  
  
Mokuba thought for a moment, then started off down the street again, calling back to Tea:  
  
"Well, since my niisama and Yugi are probably with each other, let's both search together!"  
  
Tea nodded, racing after the black-haired boy.  
  
"Okay!" she called, catching up to him, and the two hurried off toward the school.  
  
***********  
  
"There," Ishizu declared, pointing to a rusty red door that was located on the side of the old building. "That is the entrance."  
  
Yugi nodded dutifully.  
  
"Yami and your friend will catch up soon," Yugi declared, putting his hand on the rusted handle and pulling. "We should be able to handle things for a while."  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"Fine," he replied.  
  
Ishizu also stepped forward.  
  
"I will go with you," she added, looking somewhat more worried than she usually did.  
  
Yugi braced himself and pulled open the old rusted door, revealing the dimly lit area of what once used to be a large gym. The basketball hoops were shredded and worn and the rims were rusted.  
  
The floors were no longer sleek and shiny but worn and brown. But what surprised the three most of all as they entered was the white-haired girl bound to an old chair, sitting in the corner.  
  
"Is...is that...?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Kiki," Seto finished, surprised.  
  
At the sound of her name, Kiki looked up and a broad smile spread over her face at the sight of other people, including the boy that had helped her out a few days before.  
  
"Thank goodness!" she cried, looking immensely relieved as they started to walk over to her. "I've been here all night!"  
  
"Who put you there...?" Yugi started to ask when a maniac laugh cut him off.  
  
Yugi gasped and looked over on the other side of the old basketball court where Bakura, possessed by the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring, was walking forward, the evil ring glowing brightly around his neck. The boy smirked over at the three newcomers to his lair.  
  
Kiki cringed at the laugh, feeling uneasy again, her relief quickly fading away as soon as it had come.  
  
"Welcome, Yugi," he hissed, grinning. "And Seto Kaiba and Ishizu Ishtar," he mused, noticing the other two. "Well, this will certainly be fun."  
  
Three of the Millennium Ring's pointers picked themselves up, if by magic, and pointed directly at Ishizu, Seto, and Yugi. Seto raised an eyebrow as Yami Bakura smirked.  
  
"Well now, if I'm not mistaken, the Millennium Ring is sensing three other Millennium Items with you mortals," Yami Bakura murmured, looking up at them. "The puzzle, the rod, and what else...?"  
  
Seto set his briefcase down on the ground and pulled out the shiny rod. Since Yami Bakura knew about it anyway, he may as well get it ready. Not to use its magical abilities, of course, Seto thought determinedly to himself.  
  
Since the blunt-pointed end of the rod could come off, revealing a razor sharp point in its place, it was a fine enough dagger, and a good weapon in itself. There was no need for silly magical powers.  
  
Yugi narrowed his eyes and pulled out the Millennium Necklace. Yami Bakura's smile grew.  
  
"But of course. The Millennium Necklace," he mused, smirking at Yugi, who frowned angrily over at Yami Bakura.  
  
"You can't use the future sight of the necklace, but you can still use its other powers if necessary," Yugi murmured to Ishizu, handing the necklace to her. "And you might need them."  
  
Ishizu looked slightly surprised, but fastened the chain around her neck again, just as she used to before she'd given the item to Yugi and Yami back during Battle City.  
  
"Why did you kidnap Kisara?" Yugi called over to Yami Bakura, still glaring at his possessed friend. "And why are you still possessing Bakura?"  
  
Yami Bakura laughed, immensely amused by little Yugi's lack of knowledge.  
  
"I am possessing this fool Bakura because I need a host, mortal idiot," he taunted Yugi, sensing that the Pharaoh was not around.  
  
That just makes it all the more fun, Yami Bakura thought to himself with a grin.  
  
Yugi narrowed his eyes.  
  
"And what about the girl?" Seto spoke up. "I'm sure a higher being like yourself has no need of a "weak mortal," as you say."  
  
Yami Bakura continued to smile, still amused.  
  
"True, the mortal girl is of no SPECIAL use to me, however..." he murmured, grinning evilly with delight at Seto. "She will become a sacrifice soon enough. As soon as that foolish priest arrives."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
Yami Bakura continued to grin gleefully.  
  
"I will use that girl as a sacrifice in a ritual to obtain the powers of his Ka," he explained. "The White Dragon will be mine, as will the rest of the Millennium Items after I defeat you three and collect your items."  
  
Yugi clenched his fists.  
  
"No one but Yami and I are going to have the Millennium Puzzle!" he shouted back at Bakura.  
  
Seto was also angry.  
  
"And the Blue Eyes White Dragons won't ever be used by someone of such low standard," he snapped.  
  
  
  
Yami Bakura's smile spread.  
  
"Well then, would you care to have a battle then?" he asked, a blast of air blowing up his white hair as he spoke. "We will see who will be the owners and masters of the Millennium Items then, won't we?"  
  
Yugi turned to Seto and Ishizu.  
  
"Can you guys help me out by summoning monsters too?" he asked urgently, hoping they would agree. "Alone, we won't be able to defeat Bakura, but with our powers together, we just might be able to!"  
  
Seto gritted his teeth. Accepting the powers of the Millennium Rod was something he hadn't really wanted to do, but it seemed now there was no choice but to help Yugi.  
  
"Fine," Seto replied shortly.  
  
Ishizu nodded in agreement as well.  
  
"We will fight by your side until the end," she replied, looking determined.  
  
Yugi nodded with a smile.  
  
"We accept your challenge, Bakura!" he yelled back at his enemy, glaring at him. "And we will win!"  
  
Yami Bakura grinned, amused by their spirit.  
  
"So you think..." he murmured, a crack of thunder falling on the building as he unleashed his Ka, the horrible black monster entering the room behind him.  
  
  
  
Yugi's eyes grew wide, as did Seto's, Ishizu's, and Kiki's.  
  
"What is that?!" Kiki cried, looking horrified as she watched the three prepare to summon their monsters to counteract his.  
  
"It's...it's..." Yugi stammered, looking fearful as well.  
  
"DIABOUND!" Yami Bakura finished, laughing. "MY Ka and your executioner!"  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter 11  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
"Please do! And next chapter up soon! Things are REALLY starting to heat up now!" O_O!! 


	12. Chapter 12: The Final Battle All Over Ag...

Chapter Twelve: The Final Battle...All Over Again  
  
Notes: ^_^ Here we go with Chapter 12!  
  
"And thanks for reviewing, everyone! "  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Twelve: The Final Battle...All Over Again  
  
Yugi stared, wide-eyed at the huge monster that was taking form behind Yami Bakura. Seto blinked, having never seen a monster quite like that before, and Ishizu looked worried.  
  
"It's gigantic!" Yugi cried, clutching his Millennium Puzzle tightly, preparing to summon a monster as well.  
  
"Big doesn't mean invincible..." Seto murmured, but he was remembering something that he had seen in Priest Seto's memories.  
  
The giant monster that had killed him, Yami, and the ancient Ishizu; it had looked exactly like the monster Diabound that Bakura had just summoned. That meant...Seto thought as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. The priest was right! And this is a replay of the final battle of the past...  
  
"Go! Curse of Dragon!" Yugi yelled, summoning with the power of the Millennium Puzzle the yellow dragon, which roared as it appeared in front of Yugi, protecting its master from Diabound.  
  
Ishizu nodded determinedly, the Millennium Necklace lighting up.  
  
"Go! Spirit Superior!" she declared, her monster appearing in front of her as well.  
  
Seto bit his lip, focusing all his concentration on the Millennium Rod. He'd never summoned a monster like THIS before, and wasn't sure he could pull it off.  
  
  
  
"Go...Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he called sternly, grasping the handle of the glowing Millennium Rod tightly.  
  
Wing rushed up behind him, blowing his bangs up as the Blue Eyes appeared in front of him, roaring and flapping its might wings.  
  
"Yes..." Seto murmured with a small smile, looking up at his monster.  
  
Ishizu, however, looked worried.  
  
"Yugi, Kaiba," she called, looking over at the two. "It takes spiritual energy to summon these monsters. Without much practice, the drain could take a heavy toll on you both."  
  
Yugi bit his lip, feeling part of his energy sap away, just as Ishizu had mentioned.  
  
"Okay, I won't summon anything else," he called back.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes. He could feel the energy loss as well, but to summon a Blue Eyes, one of the strongest monsters ever, it was definitely worth it.  
  
Yami Bakura, however, merely chuckled, amused at their efforts to attack.  
  
"A rag-tag team of high school students and a museum curator," he laughed. "You won't win no matter WHAT monsters you summon! After all," he added, his lip curling into a smirk. "Diabound is invincible."  
  
**********  
  
Yami Yugi stopped suddenly, gritting his teeth. He had been going through the forest, following Priest Seto, as the two attempted to find where Yugi and Seto had gone to, and more importantly, what they were doing.  
  
Priest Seto looked back at Yami, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
Yami frowned, looking into the distance.  
  
"I sense Yugi is in danger...and his spiritual energy is weakening..." he murmured, clenching his fists. "He's found Bakura."  
  
Priest Seto nodded.  
  
"I can sense Seto Kaiba's energy weakening as well," he murmured, starting to walk faster. "We have to get there before they end up reliving the same battle as the past."  
  
Yami scowled, although he hurried after the priest. He, after all, had no idea of what the past had been like...or how it ended. Except, he thought to himself, that I ended up sealed in the Millennium Puzzle.  
  
Walking briskly, Yami hoped that Yugi wasn't in a similar situation.  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Tea and Mokuba ran through the schoolyard and stopped for a moment, both to catch their breath and to figure out where to go next.  
  
"Uh! They're not here!" Tea cried, biting her lip nervously. "You don't think they went back in the woods, do you?"  
  
Mokuba looked terrified.  
  
"Maybe..." he muttered, looking at the dark paths leading into the woods. "But they're not on the school grounds, so I bet they are!"  
  
Tea nodded, worried.  
  
"Okay, let's go!" she called, running toward the paths, Mokuba on her heels. "I just hope we're not...too late..."  
  
************  
  
Amber smiled, sucking in the crispy November air.   
  
"See, isn't it nice out here?" she asked, smiling as she turned to Duke, who was rubbing his bare arms, his teeth chattering. "Perfect way to wake up."  
  
Duke forced a grin back.  
  
"Y...y...yeah, if by t...that you me...mean being thrown out into the freezing cold when I was so warm and cozy in the h...house," he chattered.  
  
Amber giggled.  
  
"Well, somewhat," she corrected herself, grinning at him. "At least you're awake now."  
  
Duke rolled his eyes playfully.  
  
"Of course!" he cried, as if it were obvious. "And that's the most important thing, right?"  
  
Amber laughed as they crossed the street, passing by the schoolyard. As they did, two people caught Amber's eye as they ran into the woods. Confused, she stopped and narrowed her eyes at the two.  
  
"Hey...Duke?" she asked, as her friend stopped and looked back at her. "What are Tea and Mokuba doing running into the woods on a day off?" she inquired, looking up at Duke with narrowed eyes.  
  
Duke shrugged, catching a glimpse of the two before they ran out of sight.  
  
"Got me," he replied, scratching his head. "But we can follow them and find out," he added, grinning at Amber, who nodded determinedly.  
  
"Okay!" she replied, taking off toward the woods, Duke right beside her.  
  
************  
  
  
  
Seto bit his lip, the glow on the Millennium Rod dying down at the Blue Eyes roared again. He'd already used up his (most likely) only summon, and that was to summon his dragon, which, of course, was his most reliable monster, not to mention the strongest.  
  
The only thing that made him slightly uneasy was the fact that in the dream, he'd seen the Blue Eyes White Dragon fighting for the priest, and another dragon of some sort fighting for the Pharaoh. AND Ishizu's ancient self had been using the Spirit Superior.  
  
It was as if they were unwittingly playing right into the hands of fate...  
  
Swallowing, he turned back to face Bakura. Kiki was looked horrified, her eyes wide as she looked at the four monsters that had just so suddenly entered the, until recently, silent gym.  
  
"M...monsters!" she cried, her voice terrified and shaky.  
  
Yugi looked over at her quickly, sending her a reassuring smile.  
  
"Don't worry," he told her quickly. "These are good monsters and we're going to defeat the evil one with them."  
  
Kiki didn't look convinced, although she couldn't help but be in awe of the two dragons that had been summed. The Blue Eyes White Dragon, especially, caught her eye.  
  
"It's just like the dragons in the books I read..." she thought to herself, watching its every move.  
  
As long as I just focused on the dragon, she thought to herself, maybe I won't be as scared.  
  
Yami Bakura laughed.  
  
"You will defeat Diabound with a Spirit Superior and two dragons?" he asked, grinning widely. "I don't think so. Diabound is one of THE strongest monsters, not to mention it comes with several, handy special abilities.  
  
Yugi gulped.  
  
Special abilities? That was the last thing they needed!  
  
Seto took a breath.  
  
"Alright! Blue Eyes! Attack Diabound!" he cried, thrusting his hand forward, indicating Bakura's Ka.  
  
Yugi clenched his fists in determination.  
  
"Curse of Dragon! Help out!" he called, the yellow dragon flying forward with a roar, adding his blazing flame attack to the Blue Eyes White Dragon's white lighting.  
  
"Attack!" Seto and Yugi both shouted at the same time, their dragons combining their attacks and aiming straight for Diabound.  
  
Yami Bakura's smirk widened, however. As the attack neared his monster, it suddenly disappeared, and the attack landed vainly on the wall behind him. Yugi gasped, his eyes wide.  
  
"Where did Diabound go?" Seto demanded, looking furious.  
  
Yami Bakura laughed, that high-pitched laugh that set Kiki's hairs on end. She shivered, looking immensely frightened.  
  
"One of Diabound's special abilities is to return to the inner chambers of my mind when attacked," Yami Bakura explained, looking quite smug. "Which means no matter how many times or how hard you attack me, your attacks will never reach Diabound!"  
  
Yugi's eyes widened.  
  
"Oh no!" he cried, Curse of Dragon coming back to his side. "That means we'll never be able to kill Diabound!" he gasped.  
  
Yami Bakura smirked, Diabound returning to the gym once again, looking even more ferocious than before.  
  
"That is correct," he said in a mocking tone, grinning at the three. "On the contrary, Diabound can kill YOU!"  
  
Diabound screeched, rushing forward at the Curse of Dragon, where is stood, unable to defend itself from such a powerful attack. Yugi's eyes widened.  
  
"Oh no!" he cried, trying to think of a way out, but a bright light shot out of the Millennium Necklace from beside him.  
  
"We will counter your attack," Ishizu said sternly, something purple and blue appearing in front of Yugi's Curse of Dragon. "With Waboku! Negating the attack and protecting Yugi's monster."  
  
Diabound attacked the monk-like men that appeared in front of the Curse of Dragon, protecting it. A smile spread over Yugi's face as he looked over at Ishizu.  
  
"Thanks!" he called, and the Egyptian woman nodded dutifully.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, studying Diabound.  
  
"If it escapes to the mind when attacked, we have to find some way to keep it from moving..." he murmured. "That's it!"  
  
His eyes lit up as he thought of the way.  
  
"I use the magic of Shadow Spell on Diabound!" Seto declared, lifting up the glowing rod, focusing his energy on the spell. "Not only will this prevent him from retreating, but it will also weaken his attacks!"  
  
There was a flash of gold light and Diabound was suddenly wrapped up in a series of chains, screaming in apparent agony. Yami Bakura looked worried suddenly, glaring up at his monster.  
  
"Why you..." he hissed, shooting a glare at Seto, who smirked.  
  
"Great idea!" Yugi cried, looking up at his Curse of Dragon and then considering. "Now Diabound can't retreat!  
  
Yugi swallowed hard, the Millennium Puzzle lighting up once again.  
  
"Okay, I summon...Dark Magician!" Yugi cried, more of his spiritual energy pouring out of him to summon the purple-clothed magician, who appeared beside him.  
  
Panting he looked weakly up at Diabound, who was still wrapped in the chains.  
  
"Okay...Dark Magician...Curse of Dragon,...attack!" he called weakly, hoping it would be enough.  
  
"Blue Eyes! Attack too!" Seto yelled, his dragon flying forward to join Yugi's monsters in the combined assault.  
  
"You too, Spirit Superior!" Ishizu called, her monster also joining the onslaught aimed at Diabound.  
  
Kiki's eyes were wide as she watched all four attacks launch out at the chained monster, who couldn't retreat to its owner's mind anymore. Would it be enough to defeat the evil man and his monster? She thought to herself, watching with bated breath.  
  
Yami Bakura, however, smirked, the Millennium Ring around his neck lighting up with a blinding flash of gold light.  
  
  
  
"I use the powers of Negate Attack!" he called loudly, a large vortex-like tunnel of air and light appearing in front of the weakened Diabound, sucking in all of their monster's hard worked attacks, leaving Diabound unharmed.  
  
Seto's face fell as he took a deep breath. With every attack, his spiritual energy was becoming weaker and weaker, as was Yugi's and Ishizu's. So this is what a Dark Game is like, he thought to himself, only half-interested.  
  
What he was really concerned with was Diabound, who was wrestling madly against the chains of Shadow Spell.  
  
"No!" Yugi gasped, falling to his knees, weakened by the attacks and toll of summoning the monsters. "Our attacks...were in vain..."  
  
Ishizu sighed, looking up at Diabound with anxiety.  
  
"I use the power of De-Spell to remove that annoying Shadow Spell from Diabound!" Yami Bakura yelled, the chains vanishing from his Ka in a puff of blue smoke. "Now he is free to destroy you all!"  
  
Kiki quivered as he laughed again.  
  
***********  
  
Tea and Mokuba hurried through the woods, down the path Yugi and Seto had taken not even an hour earlier. Mokuba bit his lip, trying to stay calm, but finding it hard amidst all that had happened.  
  
"Please be okay...niisama..." he thought to himself, closing his eyes for a moment, wishing he'd insisted on going with his brother that morning.  
  
Suddenly, a huge boom sounded out from somewhere in the middle of the woods, causing the trees to shake a little, and dead leaves to fall from the branches.  
  
Tea and Mokuba halted, looking around.  
  
"Wh...what was that?!" Tea asked wildly, her hair flipping back and forth as she whirled around, trying to find the source of the noise.  
  
"It sounded like it came from this direction!" Mokuba cried, pointing ahead and running at full speed again.  
  
Tea nodded quickly before sprinting after the boy.  
  
"All right!" she called, hoping that noise didn't have anything to do with Yugi, or Seto, but secretly, she felt for sure that it had.  
  
And that wasn't a comforting feeling.  
  
**********  
  
Back at the gym, Yami Bakura laughed maniacally as Yugi struggled back to his feet, determined not to give up.  
  
"It's...not over...yet..." he gasped, clutching the chain around his Millennium Puzzle.  
  
"Oh Yami...where are you?" he whispered in his mind, hoping his friend could hear him...wherever he was.  
  
Yami Bakura chuckled.  
  
"You can hardly stand and your attacks are all easily countered. You're running low on spiritual energy, and your monsters are no match for Diabound," he pointed out, Seto narrowing his eyes angrily. "It's OVER for you all!"  
  
Diabound screeched, leaning forward. Yami Bakura smiled up at his Ka.  
  
"Alright, Diabound! Attack Yugi's Curse of Dragon and finish him off for good!" he yelled, his monster lunging forward, his attack aiming straight at Yugi's monster.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 12  
  
REVIEW!  
  
NEXT CHAPTER UP SOON! 


	13. Chapter 13: Destiny's Course

Chapter Thirteen: Destiny's Course  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! And no, this isn't the end of the series! Goodness no! What about the Vampire Lord? What about Yami's lost memory? What about all the villains who've yet to be introduced?  
  
"-_- In short, no. She's got lots more stories planned."  
  
^_^;; Yep! Anyway...  
  
"Here's lucky Chapter 13!"  
  
  
  
^^; Lucky, but a little sad.  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Destiny's Course  
  
"Yugi!" Ishizu cried, looking at the weakened boy with fear in her eyes.  
  
She'd already used her only counter spell, and had nothing left to shield his monsters, and from the look of him, he didn't have the strength to summon anything to protect himself.  
  
"This...this can't be...it..." Yugi murmured, the Dark Magician vanishing, as Yugi no longer had the energy to keep it up.  
  
"ATTACK!" Yami Bakura yelled, Diabound letting loose an enormous amount of black energy, aiming straight at the defenseless dragon.  
  
Seto gritted his teeth. He had no counter methods either! Was Bakura already going to be victorious over one of them?!  
  
"KURIBO! MULIPLY!" A voice thundered through the gym, echoing for a moment off the walls, and suddenly, a whole army of brown and green furry monsters appeared in front of Yugi's Curse of Dragon, accepting the attack and shielding both Yugi and the monster from Diabound's attacks.  
  
Yugi's eyes lit up and he turned around to see both Yami and Priest Seto, the White Dragon behind Priest Seto.  
  
"Yami!" he cried joyfully as the Kuribo's exploded behind him at they came into contact with the attack.  
  
Yami smiled at his partner warmly for a moment as Ishizu sighed with relief.   
  
  
  
"Pharaoh..." she murmured, smiling. "You arrived just in time."  
  
Priest Seto gasped as he noticed the large monster of Yami Bakura's that was now ceasing to attack, seeing as how they weren't getting through.  
  
"Diabound!" he cried, gritting his teeth. "You just don't give up, do you, Bakura?" he called over to Yugi's possessed classmate.  
  
Yami Bakura scowled, shaking with anger.  
  
"Kuribo...those annoying monsters..." he hissed, remembering how they had been he and his monster's downfall in the ancient times. "But no matter..." he murmured, standing up straight again. "I won't fall for the same trick twice."  
  
Seto let out a sigh of relief, though he hadn't been TOO worried. He was certain Yugi would think of something, but what a better way for him to be saved than by a Kuribo? Seto thought with a vague smile to himself.  
  
"Kuri!" Kuribo cried, bouncing around in front of Yugi's Curse of Dragon, just in case it needed to be used again to aid its master's reincarnate.  
  
Yami nodded over at it with a smile.  
  
"Good work, Kuribo," he called.  
  
"Thanks," Yugi murmured, trying to get back to his feet.  
  
"Diabound, attack again!" Yami Bakura yelled, hoping this time, the Kuribo wall would break.  
  
Yami gritted his teeth.  
  
"You know what to do, Kuribo!" Yami thundered, and the Kuribo nodded before multiplying into millions of Kuribos again, protecting the Curse of Dragon.  
  
Seto clenched his fists as Diabound was attacking.   
  
"Diabound is busy attacking the Kuribos, so now is the only chance for an attack to actually land," he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes with determination.  
  
"Attack!" he yelled, his dragon flying forward to attack Diabound. "White Lightning!"  
  
The Blue Eyes White Dragon opened its mouth, unleashing a strong amount of energy in its one attack on Diabound. Yami Bakura's eyes widened at the sudden attack from the side.  
  
"Kaiba, no!" Yugi called, knowing what was going to happen next.  
  
"Diabound!" Yami Bakura yelled as the attack was launched and neared his monster. "Retreat!"  
  
With a shriek, Diabound disappeared and the attack landed harmlessly on the wall behind where the monster had been standing. Yami Bakura smirked as Seto sank to the ground, nearly all of his energy having been spent in the last attack.  
  
"No..." Seto whispered, fighting to keep his eyes from closing.  
  
"Kaiba!" Priest Seto shouted, clenching his fists angrily.   
  
This was similar to what had happened to HIM in the past!   
  
"Diabound retreated again..." Ishizu whispered, looking worn down. "What can we do to keep it from escaping?"  
  
"Kuri?" Kuribo squeaked, looking confused and sad as Yugi tried to think of what to do next.  
  
***********  
  
"There!" Mokuba cried, pointing at an old gym up ahead. "They must be in there!"  
  
Tea nodded fearfully, running over to the left side of the building after Mokuba, who was standing up on his tip-toes to see in through the old window. He gasped, his eyes wide as Tea pressed her hands against the glass, looking in as well.  
  
"It's my niisama!" Mokuba cried, looking worried. "And he looks hurt! What's going on?!"  
  
Tea gasped, looking from Kiki, who was tied up to a chair still, to Yugi and Seto, both of whom had exhausted just about all of their spiritual energy, to Ishizu, and then to Yami Bakura and Diabound, who was reappearing beside its master.  
  
"They're...they're playing a Dark Game!" she cried, putting her hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh, Yugi!" she yelled, but her friend couldn't hear here above the noise inside the gym.  
  
Mokuba bit his lip, tears coming to his eyes.  
  
"That...that monster!" he cried, looking horrified. "It's the same as the one in my dream! The dream where...where..."  
  
A tear rolled down his cheek.  
  
"NIISAMA!" he yelled with all the voice he could muster, but his brother couldn't hear him.  
  
"They're going to be okay, Mokuba," Tea said quickly, her voice shaking, as she really couldn't know that for sure. "They'll win! I know it!"  
  
**********  
  
Inside the gym, Yami Bakura laughed at Seto's attempt to defeat Diabound.  
  
"You are no match for Diabound, fools!" Yami Bakura snapped, narrowing his eyes as Seto, Yugi, and the others. "And now you will die along with your monster!" he declared, pointing at the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Diabound! Attack now!"  
  
Yugi's eyes went wide.  
  
"Kuribo!" he called, and the Millennium Puzzle began to glow. "Multiply!"  
  
Yami Bakura smirked.  
  
"I told you I don't fall for the same trick twice," he taunted, the Millennium Ring glowing as Diabound lunged forward at the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Imperial Order, negating all effects of magic! Including Multiply!"  
  
Yami's eyes widened.  
  
"Kuribo!" he cried, fearing for his Ka, now that it was powerless and without its magic.  
  
Kuribo blinked before squeaking and shrinking behind Yugi's shoulder.  
  
"Kuri..." It squeaked, nervously as Yugi bit his lip.  
  
Priest Seto's eyes went wide. Now. Now was when the first death would take place. That is, if he didn't do something about it...  
  
  
  
"Kaiba!" Yugi cried, looking over at the CEO, but he was powerless to do anything about it, as was everyone else.  
  
Or so Yugi thought...  
  
"Spirit Superior..." Ishizu began, resigned to her duty, but stopped, her eyes wide as the attack suddenly collided with a different monster before it hit the Blue Eyes of Seto's.  
  
"The Blue Eyes!" Yugi cried, sure his friend had been finished off, but gasped as he realized it had indeed been a dragon that had been hit, but not Seto's.  
  
It wasn't SETO'S Blue Eyes White Dragon that had been hit, but the White Dragon Ka of the high priest. Seto's eyes widened as he watched the White Dragon hit with the dark magic energy from Diabound. The monster roared in pain, falling to the ground with a thud, dying.  
  
"That...that should have been...MY dragon..." Seto murmured, his eyes wide as he turned around. "But..."  
  
Behind him, the spirit of Priest Seto sank to the ground, his eyes closing. If the White Dragon Ka, being connected to him, died, then did that mean, despite the fact he was technically already dead, that the priest had...  
  
"What?!" Yami Bakura cried, looking just as surprised as everyone else for a minute, but then smirking again. "Whether it be Seto Kaiba or his ancient self, it doesn't matter. You'll all die in the end!"  
  
  
  
Ishizu narrowed her eyes, recovering from the brief shock of what had just taken place.  
  
"That's not true!" she cried. "Destiny's path has broken and we now have the chance to defeat you totally!"  
  
Yami Bakura laughed.  
  
"Try," he demanded with a snicker.  
  
Seto swallowed hard. The priest had saved his life by blocking the attack of Diabound's. It was almost too shocking to believe that he'd done that. But...but was there still any way of defeating the monster?  
  
Yami bit his lip. The priest had already fallen and Seto and Yugi were both still too weak from the loss of spiritual energy to do anything about the battle. Was there anything left to do that could save them?  
  
**********  
  
Mokuba's eyes widened.  
  
"The priest...he..." he murmured sadly, a tear rolling down his cheek.  
  
Tea tilted her head to the side.  
  
"The priest? Who was that?" she inquired, looking confused.  
  
Mokuba was too upset to realize that Tea couldn't see Priest Seto. Instead, the boy's lip quivered as he watched his brother struggle to his feet, Yugi recalling Curse of Dragon.  
  
"The high priest...the spirit..." Mokuba muttered. "He blocked the attack for my brother..."  
  
Tea looked at Mokuba strangely.  
  
What was Mokuba seeing that she wasn't, and why? But whatever it was, it definitely wasn't good.  
  
**********  
  
"I call forth the Dark Magician!" Yugi gasped, his knees shaking as he used the energy he'd gained back from the Curse of Dragon to summon his favorite monster.  
  
Slowly, he turned to Ishizu and Yami.  
  
"Yami...we need to do something to kill Diabound..." he murmured. "We've got to lock him down and find a way to destroy him..."  
  
Yami nodded, wishing Yugi would save his energy. Yami looked over at Ishizu, who was thinking hard.  
  
"Pharaoh...I think I have an idea..." she murmured, her necklace lighting up. "I use the magic spell, Change of Heart!"  
  
Yami Bakura snickered.  
  
"No good, foolish woman," he sneered, Diabound disappearing as the Change of Heart angel appeared on Ishizu's side of the field. "Diabound will retreat to my mind to become unaffected by your spell."  
  
Seto's eyes lit up suddenly.  
  
"Blue Eyes..." he murmured, focusing on Bakura's wide-open life points. "Attack Bakura directly!"  
  
The Blue Eyes roared and flew forward. Yugi smiled slightly.  
  
"Dark Magician! Attack as well!" he cried.  
  
Yami Bakura looked overwhelmed for a moment, but then smiled.  
  
"No matter, the Change of Heart spell is gone, so now Diabound will counter attack and destroy your monsters!"  
  
Yami smirked, the Millennium Puzzle lighting up, both around his spiritual neck and Yugi's.  
  
"No so fast, I activate the trap, Non-Aggression Area!"  
  
Yami Bakura's eyes widened in shock.  
  
  
  
"No...it was a trick..." he muttered to himself as Yami smiled.  
  
"This card forbids the opponent to summon ANY monster during his turn, which means Diabound won't be returning to protect you!" Yami declared.  
  
"Spirit Superior!" Ishizu declared, her monster lunging forward.  
  
"Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Seto called.  
  
"And Dark Magician!" Yugi declared.  
  
"Kuri!" Kuribo cried, joining the monster onslaught as well.  
  
Yami blinked before cracking a small smile.  
  
"AND Kuribo!" he added.  
  
"ATTACK!" Everyone called, their monsters combining their attacks and blasting them all out at Yami Bakura.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" Yami Bakura cried, being thrown against the wall by the force of the attack, the Millennium Ring snapping off the rope that held it around his neck and falling to the ground with a clatter.  
  
Bakura's body slid to the ground and Yugi bit his lip, concerned. As the Dark Magician vanished, he rushed over to his friend.  
  
"Bakura?" he cried anxiously, shaking his friend's shoulder gently as Ishizu sighed, taking a deep breath as her monster vanished as well.  
  
Yami watched as Yugi tried to wake Bakura, hoping that he was both the regular Bakura AND not injured by all the attacks and the stress of Yami Bakura's mind control.  
  
"Bakura!" Yugi cried, his eyes watering as he shook his friend's limp body, forgetting about his own injuries. "Oh, please be alright!"  
  
Seto turned around, however, and slowly walked over to the vague outline of the spirit of the Priest Seto. The White Dragon was slowly disappearing, and the spiritual form of the priest was growing faint.  
  
Seto knelt down next to the spirit, confused and unsure.  
  
"All he'd been saying about destiny repeating itself...did that only change because of his blocking the attack?" he wondered to himself, closing his eyes.  
  
In the vision, Seto had seen that the priestess, Ishizu's ancient self, had sacrificed herself to save Priest Seto's life. But...Seto realized, If Ishizu had died just then, we wouldn't have won, because it was by her spell that caused Diabound to retreat to Bakura's mind!  
  
Slowly, Seto opened his eyes again, his feelings mixed. No one had ever really cared much about him before, with the except of Mokuba. Not many had ever helped him, much less saved his life, like the priest just had. And deep inside, Seto knew it wasn't just to change destiny that the priest had just sacrificed himself for.  
  
************  
  
"I've gotta get in!" Mokuba cried, stepping back from the window frantically.  
  
Mokuba swallowed hard, looking around the building. He spotted a door on the other side, and ran toward it, leaving Tea behind, still confused, and very shaken.  
  
"What...what just happened?" she murmured to herself, running after Mokuba, needing to talk to Yugi. "And is everyone alright?"  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 13  
  
_; Review  
  
"O_O! Review! And next chapter up soon!" 


	14. Chapter 14: The Past and the Present

Chapter Fourteen: The Past and the Present  
  
Notes: Okay, here's chapter 14. This chapter will explain things for Bakura and more specifically, Priest Seto.  
  
" It better! They CAN'T leave! ;_; Here we go, folks."  
  
^-^;; And yeah, the priest's not talking to me right now. But maybe he will after this chapter.  
  
Priest Seto: "_; Doubt it"  
  
  
  
And in answer to spiderfan's question, no, that was just friendship. I don't write ANY yaoi stuff. ^_~ And to Alan: Yugi had to recall the Dark Magician because he was draining away too much energy to keep up.  
  
Oh, and since this is the last chapter of this fic, my new one will begin tomorrow, as usual. ^^ No clue really in this story for the next one, but Christmas should help out a tad. ^_~  
  
*********  
  
Chapter Fourteen: The Past and the Present  
  
Priest Seto opened his eyes slowly to find himself standing in a strange and vast, white space, all alone. Confused, he looked around, hoping for some sort of indication as to where he was.  
  
"Where am I?" he asked aloud, his voice feeling strangely suppressed, not echoing through the strange white area as he thought it would.  
  
Suddenly, he noticed someone standing in front of him, wearing a beige Egyptian garment and a soft smile on her face. Priest Seto's eyes widened as he recognized the figure.  
  
"I...Isis!" he cried, staring at her in disbelief. "What happened?"  
  
Slowly, however, after remembering the last things that he had done, he realized what must be going on, and he looked into her blue eyes seriously.  
  
"Even though I was just a spirit, I died..." he murmured. "I died when the attack hit the White Dragon, right?"  
  
Priestess Isis continued to smile at him, but made no reply.  
  
"You did it," she said finally.  
  
Priest Seto blinked, confused.  
  
"Did what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.  
  
"You changed the destiny," Isis explained. "You prevented the deaths of those three young people, and helped in the battle to defeat Bakura."  
  
Priest Seto looked amazed.  
  
"They won?" he asked, his eyes wide. "They were able to defeat Bakura?!"  
  
Priestess Isis nodded.  
  
"They were. The Pharaoh is now closer on his journey to recover what he lost in the last battle of the ages long past," she continued. "And the destiny of the Millennium Items is safe once more, for now at least."  
  
Priest Seto sighed, feeling relieved.  
  
"I hope that they all can keep it that way, then," he said in reply.  
  
Priestess Isis nodded slightly, still smiling that mysterious smile.  
  
**********  
  
Mokuba shoved open the rusted door to the recreation center and rushed over to his brother, who was kneeling down next to the fading form of Priest Seto.  
  
"Niisama!" he cried, tears sliding down his cheeks as he hugged his brother tightly. "Niisama!"  
  
Seto looked down at his brother, hugging him back warmly.  
  
"Mokuba..." he whispered, glad to have his brother safe and sound.  
  
"I was so worried about you!" Mokuba sobbed, snuggling close to his older brother. "It was just like my dream...in real life..."  
  
"It's alright..." Seto replied soothingly, though somewhat distracted still.  
  
It hadn't really meant anything to him before whether or not the priest was around, but now...it was as if he DID care...  
  
Ishizu walked over to Kiki and undid the ropes that were binding her to the chair, no longer magical as their creator had fallen. Kiki stood up shakily, her legs having fallen asleep during the time she had been sitting down.  
  
  
  
"Thank you," she said gratefully to Ishizu, who nodded.  
  
Curiously, Kiki looked around. She could see Yugi bending over Bakura, trying to get him to awaken, and the black-haired boy hugging the Seto Kaiba who had rescued her the day before. But...  
  
"Miss?" Kiki asked, looking up at Ishizu strangely. "Why is the man on the floor seeming to fade away? Is he...dead?"  
  
Ishizu looked down at Kiki quickly, amazed.  
  
"You can see that man?" she asked quietly.  
  
Kiki looked up at Ishizu strangely.  
  
"I...can..." she murmured, looking over at him with pity in her eyes. "He looks identical to Mr. Kaiba...But is he dead?"  
  
Ishizu lowered her gaze sadly. She couldn't explain everything to Kiki, but it was strange. How is it that the girl could see the priest, but yet not the Pharaoh?  
  
"Yes," Ishizu answered honestly. "He has been dead for a long time."  
  
Kiki bit her lip, not understanding anything Ishizu was telling her. She looked over at Yugi, who was calling to Bakura.  
  
"Bakura? Can you hear me?" he called, shaking Bakura slightly.  
  
"Mm..." Bakura moaned, stirring slightly.  
  
Yugi's eyes lit up hopefully.  
  
"Bakura?" he asked as his friend's large brown eyes opened, and Bakura blinked up at Yugi.  
  
"Y...Yugi?" he murmured, trying to focus on his friend.  
  
"Yeah!" Yugi replied, nodding. "You're okay!"  
  
Bakura winced as he tried to pull himself up off the ground, but Yugi gently forced him back down.  
  
"Take it easy Bakura," Yugi instructed, smiling. "You were possessed by the Millennium Ring and a lot of battling took place. You're probably pretty sore."  
  
Bakura forced a small chuckled.  
  
"You can say that again," he murmured, his eyes half closed as he lay back down against the wood of the basketball court. "I feel like a ran into a wall or something."  
  
Yugi scratched his cheek, smiling slightly.  
  
"Yeah...something like that," he replied with a laugh.  
  
Mokuba suddenly gasped and looked down at Priest Seto's still form.  
  
"Is he...did he really...?" he asked in broken sentences, looking up at his brother with his tear-streaked face.  
  
Seto sighed, hugging Mokuba tightly.  
  
"He blocked an attack for me," he explained. "So I guess he's...gone..."  
  
Another tear trickled down Mokuba's face as he hugged his brother tighter. Gone? He didn't want the priest to be gone! He'd had such good times with him, and he'd always helped Mokuba and Seto out. But now...  
  
"I'll miss him..." Mokuba murmured, a teardrop falling from his cheek as he squeezed his eyes shut.  
  
Seto didn't reply.  
  
***********  
  
Priest Seto stared at Priestess Isis, unsure of what to say next. He didn't have to think long, however, as she spoke up next.  
  
"Seto, though through the combined efforts of the reincarnates, you, and the Pharaoh, you threw off destiny this time, however, there are more evils that will cross that path," she said to him seriously. "The journey is far from over and there will be rough times ahead..."  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes. What was Isis saying? The journey was far from over? Did she mean the reincarnates? Surely she must, as he...  
  
"...but in the end, you all will prevail," Isis finished, looking up at him.  
  
"Wait..." Priest Seto cut in, looking at her with a strange expression. "Are you saying..."  
  
Priestess Isis smiled.  
  
"That attack didn't kill you," she informed him. "No, and you are still needed. Your journey is not yet over, as the Pharaoh's is not yet completed either."  
  
Priest Seto's eyes widened.  
  
"I..." he began, but Isis smiled.  
  
"And I know you, and the Pharaoh, will do fine," she continued.  
  
"Isis..." Priest Seto murmured, but she merely turned around.  
  
"Give the Pharaoh my greetings when you get a chance, Seto," she called, her voice growing faint as she walked away into the whiteness of the room. "Good bye...for now...and good luck."  
  
"Good...bye..." he murmured in reply.  
  
And Priest Seto watched as she walked out of sight, and the whole room suddenly turned pitch black.  
  
**********  
  
Mokuba's teardrop fell down, and instead of passing through Priest Seto's vague outline as it usually had, it splashed against his cheek. Mokuba's eyes widened in wonder as the teardrop sparkled and the color began to return to the priest's spiritual form.  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow as he watched the spirit that had been fading away up until a moment ago regain the pale coloring and return. After a few moments, Priest Seto slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at Seto and Mokuba.  
  
"Priest?!" Mokuba cried happily, as Priest Seto sat up and looked around, looking slightly distracted. "You...you're not dead?!"  
  
Priest Seto looked over at Mokuba with a smile.  
  
"Well, if you don't want to get technical, then no. I'm not dead," he replied with a wink. "At least my spirit-form isn't, I suppose."  
  
Seto smirked.  
  
"Well, I guess that's good then," he replied, trying not to sound TOO happy, as Priest Seto stood back up, having felt awkward on the ground.  
  
Mokuba nodded, grinning.  
  
"Yeah!" he exclaimed.  
  
Kiki and Ishizu were walking over to help Yugi, who was trying to support Bakura as the two stood up. Yami watched Priest Seto, Seto, and Mokuba from a distance, smiling.  
  
"At least everybody made it through this one intact," he sighed with relief, his eyes wandering over to the Millennium Ring, which was lying on the floor near the wall.  
  
"Aibou..." Yami murmured, Yugi giving Bakura to Ishizu and Kiki and stumbling over to his friend. "I know now is not the time to ask Bakura about this, but by defeating Yami Bakura in a battle, that means that we are entitled to the Millennium Ring..."  
  
Yugi smiled up at his friend.  
  
"Yeah!" he replied with a nod, retrieving the ring and brushing dirt off of it. "And I bet Bakura won't mind a bit. In fact, I bet he'll be glad to get rid of it!"  
  
Yugi looked up at his friend, his eyes sparkling.  
  
"And...this will bring you one step closer to finding your lost memory!" he added, sounding very excited.  
  
Yami nodded slowly.  
  
"I think you're right, Yugi," he replied, looking over at the others. "But this battle brought me one step closer in more than just one way," he added, thinking to himself.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Yeah..." he sighed, feeling weary. "But now...I think I'm gonna go home and go to bed..."  
  
Suddenly, however, much to Yugi's surprise, he was squeezed around the middle by a brown-haired girl who had just run up to him, her eyes worried and scared.  
  
"Yugi!" Tea cried, hugging him, despite the fact everyone else was in the room. "Yugi! What just happened?"  
  
Yugi winced.  
  
"Ow...Tea could you let go?" he murmured, smiling a little. "And I'm fine...we just had a little battle with Yami Bakura...that's all."  
  
Seto rolled his eyes, overhearing.  
  
"That's all," he repeated with a small grin. "Sure."  
  
Yugi caught Seto's eye and winked, still grinning rather embarrassedly as Tea let go of him. She brushed away something near her eye and looked down at him sternly.  
  
"Next time you're going to go do something crazy like that again, let me know first, okay?" she asked, still smiling, though her voice was firm.  
  
Yugi nodded honestly.  
  
"Okay!" he replied, walking over to the others, Yami behind him. "Thanks guys, for helping me out and everything."  
  
  
  
Seto shrugged and Ishizu smiled.  
  
"Any time at all, Yugi," she replied softly.  
  
Kiki smiled too, glad to be free from Yami Bakura.  
  
"It is I who owe you all thanks," she spoke up, everyone turning to look at her. "You all risked your lives to rescue me. I cannot express my thanks."  
  
Yugi smiled, putting a hand behind his neck, blushing slightly.  
  
"No problem, Kisara," he replied, calling her by the only name he knew her as.  
  
Kiki chuckled, putting a hand to her mouth.  
  
"That name is so old-sounding," she giggled, looking up at Yugi. "Just call me Kiki."  
  
Tea's eyes widened.  
  
"Kiki! The dancer!" she exclaimed, recognizing the girl. "Yami Bakura had you captive?"  
  
Kiki looked overwhelmed.  
  
"I suppose," she replied. "But I am glad that is over with."  
  
Bakura nodded weakly.  
  
"Me too," he replied.  
  
The others nodded in agreement, Seto sighing heavily. Mokuba looked up at him, worriedly.  
  
"Are you okay, niisama?" he asked, tilting his head.  
  
Seto smiled down at his little brother, ruffling his hair.  
  
"I'm fine, Mokuba," he replied. "Just tired."  
  
Mokuba smiled lovingly up at his brother and hugged him, holding onto his arm.  
  
"Then let's go home," he suggested, Seto nodding as the two started for the door, Priest Seto watching the two, somewhat happy for them.  
  
"I love you niisama," Mokuba whispered, snuggling up against his older brother's arm.  
  
"And I love you two," Seto replied warmly.  
  
"At least he'll be able to do what I never could," Priest Seto thought to himself with a sigh, watching Seto and Mokuba, even though he felt slightly out of place.  
  
But to his immense surprise, Seto turned around and raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Aren't you coming, priest?" he called, Mokuba turning around as well.  
  
"Yeah! Come on!" he called invitingly, smiling.  
  
Priest Seto smiled happily, and started off after the two.  
  
"Yes," he called back, the two brothers turning around again and heading for the door as Amber and Duke burst in, looking exhausted.  
  
"Whew..." Amber sighed, looking around. "What the heck happened in here?!" she cried, noticing the dents in the wall and the battered-looking group of Yugi's friends.  
  
Duke raised an eyebrow, scratching his head.  
  
"Yeah..." he murmured, looking from Bakura to Yugi, to Seto, Mokuba, and Ishizu.  
  
Yugi smiled, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side.  
  
"Well, it's a long story," he replied simply. "But for short, we had a battle with someone, and won."  
  
Duke shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.  
  
"I guess that's the important thing, right?" he said, smiling. "And that everyone's okay...well, will be okay," he added, noticing Bakura's roughed up appearance and Yugi, Seto, and Ishizu's tired-out looks.  
  
Yugi nodded  
  
"Yeah..." he agreed with a sigh, looking up at Yami and smiling.  
  
Yami winked back at him. Indeed, it was.  
  
***********  
  
END OF STORY  
  
^_^ So what did you think? ^^ REVIEW!   
  
Priest Seto: Mm...not so bad...  
  
^_^ You're talking to me again! YAY!  
  
Priest Seto: -- Okay, so I am. You shouldn't have made me think I was dead, though.  
  
^-^;; Anyway, my new Christmas story will be up tomorrow!  
  
"Thanks for reading!" ^_~ 


End file.
